[Estelle]

 

Originally Posted by x ghostie

「♚」 THE DARK LORD「♚」
╰► WORMBITE
he | him X heavily scarred tall & skinny black tom with white speckles; cloudy amber eyes X

disclaimer 4 anyone reading : this is all before stonepaw hosted an event, and beansprout got his name ! worm's concerns about the withered herbs is based off stone hasn't cleared any withered herbs from his storage. and also finally, worm's opinions are entirely in-character !!! this is not me being a stinker against carmen or vellichor. they r both cool

ೃ⁀➷ @Estelle

The question that was presented to Wormbite had him humming in silence, mulling it over. Inactivity and passiveness were one of the most common things high ranks fell to. "..Stonepaw, " He answered after a beat, his long sleek tail flickering back and forth while they walked. "He has been a medicine cat for five moons. It appears he has fallen to something you had prior - he's passive. He does not push the clan into any direction, I have seen little of him in events. He has not hosted any events. I do not know how far along he is with his training nor how close he is to his fullname, but he should be receiving it soon.. at least, I believe so. Which is why it worries me. " Wormbite let out a soft sigh, his dark nose twitching. He could smell prey beginning to come closer, perhaps they could take a detour and bring back something.

"..I believe I can smell rotten herbs from his den, " His face crinkled up at the fact, the medicine cat den was something he did his best to stay away form. It always filled his stomach with nausea, even more so. "I have not seen him take them out. It is... unhygienic... and I do not understand if he has a purpose for them or, " He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "He handles his own herb patrols, yes? Have you seen him deliver punishments or are you tasked with that?" Wormbite inquired, truthfully, he did not keep up with everything. Herb patrols were another he kept in the back of his mind.

"He is somewhat young, and I will give him that and only that. I am sure being a high rank at such an age is stressful. However, he still needs to make improvements less RiverClan suffer from it. He can ask for help, no one will look down on him for doing so. If anything, he can get an apprentice or simply become the apprentice - something. Stepping down is the worst-case scenario, hence why I am coming to you. I require your thoughts, and I am curious to know how to give him the direction he needs, " He finished with a nod of his head, his mouth feeling awfully dry. He remembered what Stonepaw had said previously, how he did not know what was expected of him (though, it could've been rhetorical) so - here Wombite was. He would prefer to intervene when he was able to.

This was... Worrisome, to say the least. As he patiently listened to Wormbite's words with care, Gingerfrost couldn't help the slight frown that formed on his brow. He admitted, he didn't pay particular attention to what Stonepaw did nor the workings of the medicine den -- cats were being healed and that's what mattered him, other than that Gingerfrost had little idea of what a medicine cat is exactly supposed to do himself, other than, well, keeping up storages and healing the injured and sick. And even then he had no clue about herbs or how long they lasted. So hearing Wormbite could might smell rotten herbs from Stonepaw's den, a scent unfamiliar to the tabby a perhaps why he never noticed it (it may also very well be because he outright avoided the medicine cat's den for personal reasons); though, he did state some facts Gingerfrost was now brought to wonder about himself. At the inquiry, his frown only deepened.
"Stonepaw handles his own patrols, yeah. He should be handling his own punishments too..." The tabby had never been asked to take care of them, even if he didn't mind "I always presumed they were being completed."
Alas, that didn't seem to be the case if Wormbite brought it up. Perhaps he ought to keep a closer eye on herb patrols from now on.

Reaching his final word, Gingerfrost slowly nodded along. He was somewhat glad Wormbite approached him concerning these issues, though the tabby had to say that he hadn't the faintest clue on how to handle children. Then again, Stonepaw wasn't quite a child anymore either. He understood the head shield's concerns, and for a moment remained silent as he mulled over them. It was true that he hadn't been particularly bothered by these things up until now; specifically the fact that Stonepaw hadn't hosted any events, for instance, as he always believed the feline to be busy. He didn't blame him for that. But it was true nonetheless that herb storages needed cleaning (just like the preypile needed it), and uncompleted patrols were at least due a talking to.
"..I believe our first step should be talking to him directly. Ask why he hasn't been giving out punishments or cleaning the herb storage, see if he needs any help anywhere. He's young, but he's grown a lot too, I think he'd be able to understand our concerns. Could be because of expectation that he's hesitant to ask for help.. I'm not sure. I can talk to him about it, if you'd like. Or we can both go, though I think an approach should be... Non-threatening."
If that made any sense. Gingerfrost let a small sigh escape. There always was something, wasn't there. You know this was a lot easier when he was the one being yelled at.