SkyClan Medicine Cat's Den

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Role

Oakpaw stammered for words, trying to defend herself. "I d-didn't mean it like that! I only meant to be p-positive," she sputtered. She relaxed as he turned around, humor in his expression. Oakpaw shook her head and chuckled. He sure got her. Oakpaw looked up at Shinefang, listening to his reply. Oakpaw nodded, and then remembered her prey. Eyes glittering with joy, Oakpaw tucked into her vole. A purr rumbled quietly from her throat as she took quick, clean bites. Oakpaw paused. "Thank you again!" And then she resumed. At least her mentor taught her to be grateful for prey.

"Shinefang: Medicine cat and master prankster. Not apprentice is safe," he said. The old tom scratched at his belly with his hind leg, squinting his remaining eye. "Sure thing," he said, replying to her thanks. "I have to be off for a bit. I have some kitwits to educate. Make yourself comfortable and yell if you need me. Shinefang went to his shelf and pulled down a cobwebs, oak leaf, a paw full of yarrow flowers, a marigold flower, a catmint leaf, and just one bright red berry which he handled with special care. He pile the herbs onto the oakleaf and began to walk backwards, dragging the parcel by the stem. "Back in a bit."

[Role]

Originally Posted by Charmer

"Shinefang: Medicine cat and master prankster. Not apprentice is safe," he said. The old tom scratched at his belly with his hind leg, squinting his remaining eye. "Sure thing," he said, replying to her thanks. "I have to be off for a bit. I have some kitwits to educate. Make yourself comfortable and yell if you need me. Shinefang went to his shelf and pulled down a cobwebs, oak leaf, a paw full of yarrow flowers, a marigold flower, a catmint leaf, and just one bright red berry which he handled with special care. He pile the herbs onto the oakleaf and began to walk backwards, dragging the parcel by the stem. "Back in a bit."

Oakpaw chuckled and watched him gather herbs. He pulled out two things any cat could recognize, like cobwebs and leaves, but the rest were a bit unusual. Oakpaw mentally shook her head. She could never become a medicine cat, nor did she want to be one. There was too much to learn about. "See you later, and don't you twist my words," she chirped.

(Short sorry!)

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang flinched in surprise as he felt a warm body press against his flank that felt like it was suspiciously close in size to the apprentice lying dead in his den. He recognized that ginger spot on her head the instant he looked down. "Junebug?" What could the Riverclan apprentice be doing all the way up here in Skyclan? In his den? He turned his head to see Daypaw was here as well. He watched the Shadowclan medicine cat rub mint on Acornpaw's body and heard but didn't really register the sentiment about better places or some mousedung. Still he nodded. He was drained from the embarrassment of the scene he'd made. You'd think he'd never seen a cat die before. As a warrior, he'd seen it plenty. But this was different. The little tom had only had a bad bump on his head. He was sure he would be ok. And worse yet, the medicine cat had told him that he would be ok. Now he was among the foxhearts, and he'd gone and made a liar out of himself. "You too, Daypaw. I'm guessing you came to get herbs?" he asked, his voice hollow and flat. He pulled away from Juniperpaw and strode up to Acornpaw's body. "Help yourself. There's some over there, and there, and there," he muttered, pointing his tail every which way across his den floor. He bent his neck down and grabbed a gentle hold of Acornpaw's scruff and began dragging him backwards toward the den entrance, making some effort not to drag him over and leaves and ruin them as he made his way to the clearing to present the young cat for his vigil.

Nightpaw was sitting outside the den, peering inside at the scene with green eyes wide with shock. Her heart ached as she watched the old tom dragging along the apprentice. It must be so hard being a medicine cat, she thought to herself, moving aside to give the tom room to get past her. She'd never seen the Skyclan medicine cat before. He was quite a bit older than Juniperpaw and Daypaw. And bigger. And just covered in scars. And... was he missing and eye?! Shuddering, she moved into the den as soon as there was room. There was a splat beneath her paw and she lifted it to see a crushed blue berry. "Uh... sorry," she said, backing against the den wall and away from the herbs. They were here to retrieve herbs for Shadowclan, not squish them!

Originally Posted by AbsurdJinx

@woly @Charmer


Juniperpaw smiled softly up at Shinefang when he looked down at her, referring to her by the nickname she oh-so-loved to hear from him. She quietly watched as the older tomcat slipped away from her side, approaching Daypaw who was tending to the young cat's death-scent. She frowned at the sight of the young feline who seemed to be just around her own age. A sad look formed in her green eyes, and she shook her head, meowing gently, ``Shinefang, we'll help you clean up.`` Juniperpaw didn't want to leave the elder tomcat quite yet. She backed away as Shinefang gripped the apprentice's scruff between his jaws, carefully maneuvering his way through the maze of herbs. Juniperpaw managed to scrape a pawful or so of leaves and berries out of the way, solemnly watching on as the limp body was carried past her. Welcome him into your ranks, StarClan. Let him find peace among the stars.


She looked to Daypaw for guidance, uncertain as to what to do next. Juniperpaw, however, was quick to realize that the ShadowClan feline wasn't exactly the best at comforting, and instead, Juniperpaw began to quietly pick at the herbs littering the ground while waiting for Shinefang to return. She wasn't exactly aware of which herbs were which, but she was able to pile a few of them based off similar appearances and smells. She carried the bundle over to what she assumed was Shinefang's herb store where she rocked back on her haunches and began building piles for the different leaves and berries, hoping she was placing them in their correct piles.

they knew nightpaw mustve felt a bit out of her place among the whelm of the medicine cats. front he way shinefang had been acting, they guessed this was his first loss. they could feel for him. to have cats rely on you, trust you to heal them, fix them, make them better, and then lose them. to have a cats life rely on your two paws was a lot of weight on your shoulders, and daydream only knew that too well.they had lost countless cats at the point, and they could only feel their mental stability decrease as time went on. they pressed close to nightpaw, their maw close to her ear,¨he had lost his first patient.¨ they explained. puling away, they watched juniperpaw start to help sort the herbs in the correct places, places that they assumed shinefang had tore them from in his rage.

they leaned down, sniffing each and every plant. they didnt want to take too much, but they didnt want to take too little, either. they started to make their own pile for what they were collecting. they placed a couple of marigold flowers, goldenrods, catmint and a few other basic herbs. this would hopefully last shadowclan for awhile, they needed it desperately. now, they sat and waited for shinefang to enter the den. while daydream cared about their clan, they also cared about to others, even if it didnt seem like it most of the time. they still did. so they werent going to simply leave him in a time of need. they would stay.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

they knew nightpaw mustve felt a bit out of her place among the whelm of the medicine cats. front he way shinefang had been acting, they guessed this was his first loss. they could feel for him. to have cats rely on you, trust you to heal them, fix them, make them better, and then lose them. to have a cats life rely on your two paws was a lot of weight on your shoulders, and daydream only knew that too well.they had lost countless cats at the point, and they could only feel their mental stability decrease as time went on. they pressed close to nightpaw, their maw close to her ear,¨he had lost his first patient.¨ they explained. puling away, they watched juniperpaw start to help sort the herbs in the correct places, places that they assumed shinefang had tore them from in his rage.

they leaned down, sniffing each and every plant. they didnt want to take too much, but they didnt want to take too little, either. they started to make their own pile for what they were collecting. they placed a couple of marigold flowers, goldenrods, catmint and a few other basic herbs. this would hopefully last shadowclan for awhile, they needed it desperately. now, they sat and waited for shinefang to enter the den. while daydream cared about their clan, they also cared about to others, even if it didnt seem like it most of the time. they still did. so they werent going to simply leave him in a time of need. they would stay.

@AbsurdJinx

"Oh..." Nightpaw understood now. Well, as much as she could. She'd never had to heal a cat before. She'd never seen a cat die, much less felt responsible for it. All she could tell was that it must have felt awful. Seeing the other two cats trying to sort herbs, Nightpaw felt the desire to help as well, but all the leaves on the den floor looked really similar to her. She noticed another of the blue berries that she'd squished earlier and saw that they, like the leaves were scattered, and began to use her paws to move them all into a nice little pile. "Are these all the same thing?" she asked quietly, hoping one of the medicine cats would answer.

Shinefang re-entered a heartbeat later, his jaws empty and his eye downcast as he looked at the three of them cleaning up his mess. He clenched his jaw, ashamed by the mess he'd made of things, and padded in. "Thanks, Junebug. I'm sorry. I lost my temper," he said quietly, too embarrassed to look at the apprentice." He walked up slowly to Daydream, and looked at the meager pile they had built. He stiffened a little as he saw the catmint and took a breath to calm himself. Memories of losing his mother to greencough made him want to hoard every leaf, but the fact is, he still had time to get more. "You can have more herbs than that if you need, Dreamer. Skyclan has a couple of good harvests yet before leafbare comes. Shadowclan doesn't," he said matter of factly. That's when he noticed the untreated gashes on the younger cat's skin. He took a paw and pushed aside a clump of fur the find a cut crusted over with dried blood. There were a few of these now that he was closer. "Are these from the Gathering?! Why haven't you treated them?"

[AbsurdJinx]

@Charmer @king kaleb!


Juniperpaw looked over her shoulder at Nightpaw, an amused purr rumbling in her throat at the sight of the warrior apprentice who didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Abandoning the herbs sitting at the base of the herb store, the young feline padded over to Nightpaw, lowering her head to sniff at the bundle of messily-gathered herbs. An abundance of scents attacked her nose, and she noticed some curves and points and coloration in some leaves that weren't there in others. ``No, these are completely different leaves. See the edges of some of these? The colors, the points? Smell them? You could definitely argue that not all leaves are exactly the same, so rely feel free to rely on scent when ordering these. Just be careful not to let your nose stray.`` As Juniperpaw spoke, she was able to separate two herbs she found were different, though she was not aware of their names. One smelt different than the other, one of the leaves had a darker coloration, and one had edges to it where the other leaf was more rounded. [rounded: borage. edges: chervil]

As Shinefang entered the den, Juniperpaw glanced up at him, smiling warmly. ``Don't worry about it, Shinefang. It happens to the best of us,`` she meowed in what she hoped was a comforting tone. She sat on the other side of the bundle of herbs, opposite to Nightpaw, and helped to place each leaf and berry in their appropriate pile. That's when she heard Shinefang exclaim about the Gathering, causing Juniperpaw to whip around and find him picking at Daydream's pelt. She zoned in on the dried blood decorating the ShadowClan cat's pelt and she released a a high-pitched cry of concern. ``Daydream! What's happened?`` Worriedly, Juniperpaw joined Shinefang's side and hastily began sniffing at her friend's injury.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

@AbsurdJinx

"Oh..." Nightpaw understood now. Well, as much as she could. She'd never had to heal a cat before. She'd never seen a cat die, much less felt responsible for it. All she could tell was that it must have felt awful. Seeing the other two cats trying to sort herbs, Nightpaw felt the desire to help as well, but all the leaves on the den floor looked really similar to her. She noticed another of the blue berries that she'd squished earlier and saw that they, like the leaves were scattered, and began to use her paws to move them all into a nice little pile. "Are these all the same thing?" she asked quietly, hoping one of the medicine cats would answer.

Shinefang re-entered a heartbeat later, his jaws empty and his eye downcast as he looked at the three of them cleaning up his mess. He clenched his jaw, ashamed by the mess he'd made of things, and padded in. "Thanks, Junebug. I'm sorry. I lost my temper," he said quietly, too embarrassed to look at the apprentice." He walked up slowly to Daydream, and looked at the meager pile they had built. He stiffened a little as he saw the catmint and took a breath to calm himself. Memories of losing his mother to greencough made him want to hoard every leaf, but the fact is, he still had time to get more. "You can have more herbs than that if you need, Dreamer. Skyclan has a couple of good harvests yet before leafbare comes. Shadowclan doesn't," he said matter of factly. That's when he noticed the untreated gashes on the younger cat's skin. He took a paw and pushed aside a clump of fur the find a cut crusted over with dried blood. There were a few of these now that he was closer. "Are these from the Gathering?! Why haven't you treated them?"

Originally Posted by AbsurdJinx

@Charmer @king kaleb!


Juniperpaw looked over her shoulder at Nightpaw, an amused purr rumbling in her throat at the sight of the warrior apprentice who didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Abandoning the herbs sitting at the base of the herb store, the young feline padded over to Nightpaw, lowering her head to sniff at the bundle of messily-gathered herbs. An abundance of scents attacked her nose, and she noticed some curves and points and coloration in some leaves that weren't there in others. ``No, these are completely different leaves. See the edges of some of these? The colors, the points? Smell them? You could definitely argue that not all leaves are exactly the same, so rely feel free to rely on scent when ordering these. Just be careful not to let your nose stray.`` As Juniperpaw spoke, she was able to separate two herbs she found were different, though she was not aware of their names. One smelt different than the other, one of the leaves had a darker coloration, and one had edges to it where the other leaf was more rounded. [rounded: borage. edges: chervil]

As Shinefang entered the den, Juniperpaw glanced up at him, smiling warmly. ``Don't worry about it, Shinefang. It happens to the best of us,`` she meowed in what she hoped was a comforting tone. She sat on the other side of the bundle of herbs, opposite to Nightpaw, and helped to place each leaf and berry in their appropriate pile. That's when she heard Shinefang exclaim about the Gathering, causing Juniperpaw to whip around and find him picking at Daydream's pelt. She zoned in on the dried blood decorating the ShadowClan cat's pelt and she released a a high-pitched cry of concern. ``Daydream! What's happened?`` Worriedly, Juniperpaw joined Shinefang's side and hastily began sniffing at her friend's injury.

at the feeling of the two medcats picking and sniffing at their pet their fur rose in defense, batting them away softly before dragging their tongue over the dried up blood. ¨the scarce herbs that i have are going to be used on patients only.¨ they mewed, almost daring them to challenge their decision. there werent a lot, and with these that skyclan was giving them, would hopefully last them through the winter if daydream used them in proper amounts. ¨these injuries were from the gathering, i havent exactly had the time to treat..or clean myself since then.¨ verbally saying it, it sounded like they were a mess. their fur was clotted in some places from where dried blood laid, the most noticable thing were the large scratch marks along their throat. looking back at the gathering..well, honestly they didnt want to think about it. they looked at their paws for a moment, thinking of the harm they have given upon the syndicate fighter that had attacked them. they had taken out their eyes for christs sake. they shivered, bending down to their original spot to gather more healthy herbs for their pile, before going over and sniffing at the leaves nightpaw was messing with. ¨these are chervil leaves. theyre the ones i used to treat your wounds when you first arrived.¨ they explained briefly.

[Empress Of Evil]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang shrugged off the deputy's decline. "Guess my patients are going to be well fed then," he said. He could easily divvy up the large piece of prey and the cats who came to see him would leave with healing herbs on their wounds and full bellies. What a half-hearted praise from her: 'I'm sure you'll do great as as the clan's medicine cat'. It was the more obvious than cold in leafbare that she was being polite but not fond of his answer, it was the truth though. Skyclan had needed a medicine cat and he'd stepped up to help. What was so wrong with serving his clan? The clan that she would be leading some day? How dare he make sure there were still cats left to lead by the time she got there. What nerve he had! He swallowed the bit in his mouth, "Well, I was a great warrior. Figured I'd add this to my expanding list of things I'm great at. Maybe next I'll take up mossball." If she was going to serve him up a load of mousedung, it was only fair he gave it right back. He'd be genuine when she was genuine. Her happiness at being the deputy seemed real enough though, and he grunted in affirmation. "Skyclan is a great clan," he said simply. He could feel tension crackling between them, but what did she expect? Maybe she'd remember to be more sincere the next time she spoke to him. If he wanted insincerity, he'd ask a shecat if his fur looked nice today.

(Isn't he just delightful?)

Anyone who was good with emotions would be able to tell that there was doubt in her words. She wanted to sound like she had faith, but his reason just wasn't enough for her to genuinely feel like he would be the perfect fit for the job. Leaf-bare was approaching and she knew that she would have to be grateful for whatever help the clan was given, but it was harder for her then it sounded. Did she truly believe he'd do a good job? No. Was she trying to? Yes. At least she was trying. Hopefully the tom would prove her wrong though and be one of the finest medicine cat's amongst the clans.
"Maybe you should," Auroraflame said boldly. She could tell that there was a tension growing between them. She could tell that the tom didn't mean what he said, and he was starting to get onto her nerves, even though he hadn't said that much yet. She could tell that this conversation was going downhill. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the dirt. He was starting to give her a little bit of attitude, so she might as well return the favour. She didn't like the way he was speaking to her, and he probably didn't like the way she was speaking either. Well, it was the kind of thing that she did. To treat others the way that they treated her.
"It is," she said curtly. Things had changed very quickly. They had both sensed the tension between them and they were both not liking it. And so, they were also reacting to it in the same way. This was the part where she put her wall up and did her best not to smile. That might be hard though, since she smiled very easily, even if she were sobbing or fuming, she would smile if something funny happened, though it could disappear just as quickly. She remove her claws from the dirt and quickly brushed the dirt off with her paws. She could clean them properly later. By now, the deputy probably should've left to avoid making things worse, but she stayed for some reason. Maybe it was because she wanted to hear what the tom had to say in response. Yes, that sounded accurate enough.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by AbsurdJinx

@Charmer @king kaleb!


Juniperpaw looked over her shoulder at Nightpaw, an amused purr rumbling in her throat at the sight of the warrior apprentice who didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Abandoning the herbs sitting at the base of the herb store, the young feline padded over to Nightpaw, lowering her head to sniff at the bundle of messily-gathered herbs. An abundance of scents attacked her nose, and she noticed some curves and points and coloration in some leaves that weren't there in others. ``No, these are completely different leaves. See the edges of some of these? The colors, the points? Smell them? You could definitely argue that not all leaves are exactly the same, so rely feel free to rely on scent when ordering these. Just be careful not to let your nose stray.`` As Juniperpaw spoke, she was able to separate two herbs she found were different, though she was not aware of their names. One smelt different than the other, one of the leaves had a darker coloration, and one had edges to it where the other leaf was more rounded. [rounded: borage. edges: chervil]

As Shinefang entered the den, Juniperpaw glanced up at him, smiling warmly. ``Don't worry about it, Shinefang. It happens to the best of us,`` she meowed in what she hoped was a comforting tone. She sat on the other side of the bundle of herbs, opposite to Nightpaw, and helped to place each leaf and berry in their appropriate pile. That's when she heard Shinefang exclaim about the Gathering, causing Juniperpaw to whip around and find him picking at Daydream's pelt. She zoned in on the dried blood decorating the ShadowClan cat's pelt and she released a a high-pitched cry of concern. ``Daydream! What's happened?`` Worriedly, Juniperpaw joined Shinefang's side and hastily began sniffing at her friend's injury.

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

at the feeling of the two medcats picking and sniffing at their pet their fur rose in defense, batting them away softly before dragging their tongue over the dried up blood. ¨the scarce herbs that i have are going to be used on patients only.¨ they mewed, almost daring them to challenge their decision. there werent a lot, and with these that skyclan was giving them, would hopefully last them through the winter if daydream used them in proper amounts. ¨these injuries were from the gathering, i havent exactly had the time to treat..or clean myself since then.¨ verbally saying it, it sounded like they were a mess. their fur was clotted in some places from where dried blood laid, the most noticable thing were the large scratch marks along their throat. looking back at the gathering..well, honestly they didnt want to think about it. they looked at their paws for a moment, thinking of the harm they have given upon the syndicate fighter that had attacked them. they had taken out their eyes for christs sake. they shivered, bending down to their original spot to gather more healthy herbs for their pile, before going over and sniffing at the leaves nightpaw was messing with. ¨these are chervil leaves. theyre the ones i used to treat your wounds when you first arrived.¨ they explained briefly.

"Uh, oh! Right yes," Nightpaw said to Juniperpaw, leaning down to give the herbs a sniff. Sure enough some of them smelled very different. The ones with jagged edges smelled really sweet. And now that she was looking more closely, the rounded ones looked a little... hairy? Juniperpaw got everything sort nicely just as Shinefang said something about wounds on Daydream. She stiffened and looked over as Juniperpaw rushed over to help, but she could see the scratches from where she was as they moved aside the fur on their body, and her stomach lurched. How did I not see that? Before she could join the crowd around her friend, Daydream had batted them away and come to join her. They began to talk about the herbs in the piles, but Nightpaw barely heard it, she was so stunned by her utter failure to notice the now obvious wounds on the medicine cat.

As the Shadowclan medicine cat batted their paw at him and walked away, he gave a snort. He had a feeling cats didn't challenge Daydream often, and if they were expecting more of that then boy had they come to the wrong den. "Really? So what exactly was your plan if you got an infection and had no cat with any herb training at all to help you? I don't know if anyone properly explained this to you, but the leader is the one with nine lives, not the medicine cat. Use your sense dreamer. If you try to heal cats while your not healthy, you may think you're being noble, and saving cats, but you're actually just killing more in the long run." Shinefang glanced around the clearing floor and found a good sized burdock root. "Well you're getting treatment now, and you're getting a heaping helping of something stronger than chervil since I'm guessing you're not going to exactly be diligent about reapplying your poltice. Junebug, clean their wounds off. Especially those ones around their throat." Not only did those look especially bad, but the old tom wasn't sure Daydream would be able to reach them properly. "And you, whatever your name is," he said, looking right at Nightpaw, "Help Junebug. Do whatever she tells you." With that, the old tom sank his teeth into the burdock root and tore off a good sized piece to chew into a pulp.

"Ok!" Nightpaw said, the sudden command almost startling her into action as she quickly moved to Juniperpaw's side to help however she was told. She could hardly make sense of any of this medicine stuff, but if this cat said Daydream needed help, she'd help.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Empress Of Evil

Anyone who was good with emotions would be able to tell that there was doubt in her words. She wanted to sound like she had faith, but his reason just wasn't enough for her to genuinely feel like he would be the perfect fit for the job. Leaf-bare was approaching and she knew that she would have to be grateful for whatever help the clan was given, but it was harder for her then it sounded. Did she truly believe he'd do a good job? No. Was she trying to? Yes. At least she was trying. Hopefully the tom would prove her wrong though and be one of the finest medicine cat's amongst the clans.
"Maybe you should," Auroraflame said boldly. She could tell that there was a tension growing between them. She could tell that the tom didn't mean what he said, and he was starting to get onto her nerves, even though he hadn't said that much yet. She could tell that this conversation was going downhill. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the dirt. He was starting to give her a little bit of attitude, so she might as well return the favour. She didn't like the way he was speaking to her, and he probably didn't like the way she was speaking either. Well, it was the kind of thing that she did. To treat others the way that they treated her.
"It is," she said curtly. Things had changed very quickly. They had both sensed the tension between them and they were both not liking it. And so, they were also reacting to it in the same way. This was the part where she put her wall up and did her best not to smile. That might be hard though, since she smiled very easily, even if she were sobbing or fuming, she would smile if something funny happened, though it could disappear just as quickly. She remove her claws from the dirt and quickly brushed the dirt off with her paws. She could clean them properly later. By now, the deputy probably should've left to avoid making things worse, but she stayed for some reason. Maybe it was because she wanted to hear what the tom had to say in response. Yes, that sounded accurate enough.

Shinefang had been a warrior first. He knew when another cat had their claws out. His eye darted down to see the black-furred shecat, claws digging into the earth of his den, then looked up at he and met her eyes with his one. A deputy clawing up an elderly medicine cat in his own den because he was rude to you? I'm sure that will go over great for you, he said on the inside as he stared her down. When she sheathed his claws, he hummed in agreement. It could have easily been his seconding her affirmation of Skyclan's greatness, but really it was his way of saying, 'that's what I thought. He was unsure why she was sticking around at this point. It was obvious this conversation had become a lot less friendly in the last few moments and normally that was enough to drive another cat off, but if she wanted to keep talking, he'd keep talking. "Enough about me and my budding mossball prowess, though. What's going on with Auroraflame? I'd like to hear a little more about you?" said the old tom, gently pushing the rest of the rabbit to the side and folding one forepaw over the other like a kit waiting to hear a nursery tail.

[AbsurdJinx]

@king kaleb! @Charmer

Juniperpaw huffed in frustration as Daydream pulled away from both her an Shinefang. Sometimes, the ShadowClan cat can just be so irritating! ``Daydream-`` she began, abruptly trailing off as Shinefang took over. And then, like a shadow, Juniperpaw stood beside the elder feline, mimicking his actions. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head at Daydream, following Shinefang's gaze when he looked to the burdock root before looking back over at Daydream. She eyed the severe-looking injure stretched across her friend's throat, and wondered how they hadn't noticed earlier. Now that they were aware of it, it seemed so obvious. Juniperpaw felt guilty for not seeing it sooner. At Shinefang's demand, Juniperpaw straightened with purpose and meowed, ``Okay, Daydream, don't claw my ears off. I'm just following Shinefang's orders. Instead, claw what remains of his ears off.``

She neared the hot-tempered feline, looking over at Nightpaw and remembering that the warrior apprentice hadn't been introduced to Shinefang. While inspecting Daydream's neck and considering how to approach the situation Juniperpaw spoke, ``Oh! This is Nightpaw. Nightpaw, Shinefang; Shinefang, Nightpaw. Nightpaw came as Daydream's escort.`` Juniperpaw smirked at her words. It sounded like Daydream needed a guard to go everywhere. She remembered back before Geckoleaf disappeared - her mentor was so close to assigning Juniperpaw bodyguards. The thought amused her. ``Hey, Nightpaw, why don't you wash the wounds... er, everywhere else? See where the blood is clotted?`` The RiverClan she-cat directed her attention on Daydream. ``Daydream, without you, where will ShadowClan be? You worked so hard to get to where you are - don't let it be for nothing.``

In all honesty, Juniperpaw was a little disappointed in Daydream. Hadn't they thought of the options where infection kicked in or whatever and ShadowClan was left without a medicine cat? Who would heal those cats then? What about Geckoleaf, who worked so hard to help Daydream get where they are? And what about Shinefang and Juniperpaw? What would they do without their Daydream? Juniperpaw roughly batted Daydream's chin up, though she was careful to avoid the injury. Her eyes were narrowed and she frowned as a result of her disapproval, but she concentrated on the rather nasty wound across Daydream's throat. Juniperpaw wrinkled her nose in distaste as she began to tend to her friend's injury.