| Lightningpaw |
Flock Together [Tier 1] - Inactive
There was a moment of levity. Of snorts and giggles being had. It seemed her teasing had gotten the desired effect, at least from the paws and her mentor. Drizzlecloud, while certainly more chatty than Elmshadow, had more in common with the dark furred tom than first met the eye. They both gave the appearance of speaking only what was necessary and little more, giving no opening, no glance into their inner workings even in this meeting. Despite this, Lightningpaw offered a cheeky grin to the few laughs she got, a purr escaping her as she felt her mentor's nose on her cheek.
And then the mood changed. Soured in an instant. Almond shaped eyes grew round at Chuckles' announcement. Ivysnake had been... murdered? Murdered?! That... that was awful! Following his cool gaze, Lightningpaw's own blue hues narrowed momentarily, wondering if ThunderClan was to blame. It wouldn't surprise her. Not really. In fact, that had been the very thing Cowtuft and her had been arguing about just before their arrival!
But... something didn't add up. Drizzlecloud and Springpaw seemed shocked. Caught unawares by the news. If ThunderClan had really killed the ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice, wouldn't they know about it? Surely Bumblebreath would have held a clan meeting at a potential war with ShadowClan upon such a crime? It just wasn't right. How out of the loop they seemed.
Chuckles wasn't really in the mood it seemed to add any more details to his revelation either, as he quickly changed the subject, forcing Lightningpaw to shake any suspicion away. If ThunderClan had truly killed Ivysnake, she was certain Chuckles would have said something, wouldn't have he? She definitely wouldn't just chat up a storm with the healers of the clan who had just murdered Cowtuft. She'd be out for their blood. There must have been another meaning behind that stare. There just had to be.
"Sorry... for your loss," Lightningpaw mewed, sincerity lacing her voice as she dipped her head respectfully towards Elmshadow. She'd lost enough cats in her life to know the sting. She couldn't even imagine what she would do if something happened to her Tufty. Elmshadow was no doubt more distraught than he let on... or so she chose to believe.
"Cowtuft wishes to let you know that he hopes she's at peace... in her... chosen afterlife."
Her mentor's words confused her, making her take pause between them as she made sure she got them right. Chosen afterlife? What? Didn't medicine cats just go to StarClan? They served their clan in StarClan's name, didn't they? Surely they had chosen the old geezers in taking this path? Could you even choose? She had so. Many. Inappropriately timed. Questions! Gah! These would have to wait until they got back for that bit of information. Instant hatred for this situation, ta.
Deciding to focus instead on the conversation at paw, Lightningpaw's large ears raised at the mention of not just one, but two former medicine cats? Residing in ThunderClan? Wait... why in the Dark Forest did Murderstar want to have her medicine cats coming to WindClan's territory to learn herbs when they had plenty of former medicine cats just lurking about their ranks? This whole situation stank more and more the more information she got from it. Perhaps Springpaw wasn't aware of any foul play... maybe even Drizzlecloud, but Bumbledung was definitely playing a dangerous game here.
Giving herself a mental headshake - she had promised Cowtuft she wouldn't be bringing any of that up tonight - she proceeded to translate for the rest, her mentor oddly chatty this evening. She supposed maybe he enjoyed the company of these other medicine cats. Perhaps trusted them more than most warriors? Not that she blamed him, necessarily. These cats had consciously taken a vow to help others over hurting them. Even other clans did not openly attack them... although that seemed to not have helped the former Shadowclan apprentice.
"Cowtuft wishes to let you know he finds your findings interesting. He cannot recall ever seeing that flower before. But wait... Hold on just a mo. Is it... the first time you see these flowers in your territory? Has there been a change in climate? Perhaps the recent rains have made the terrain more amicable to your clan's biome? Was it in the swampier areas, perhaps? Er... um... That was me. Not Cowtuft. Sorry, I tend to get carried away," Lightningpaw mewed, eyes shining with interest, not a hint of remorse in them before she continued translating for her mentor.
"Erm... Oh go- Yeah no, not saying that, sorry! Cowtuft wishes to let you know he thinks it's brilliant that you've gotten some progress in, then. He also thanks you for the knowledge on the glowing buggers. He'd been warned to stay away from them, but had no idea why. Honestly, gonna thank you there too. Might have had a quick trip to the afterlife myself if I was getting any experimenting done. Note to self... find a better way to find any potentially lethal side effects to herbs," she giggled, her tail lashing out in amusement.
"He also wishes to inform that he has found out some knew herbs himself. Sun... Sunny... This really takes the edge off any serious conversation, I hope you are proper chuffed, you are," she muttered, giving her mentor a playful glare before continuing.
"Sunnyfuzzies and Sunset Roses. The first is a golden, flowering plant. Very thick and fluffy. Grows along a stem and can usually be seen in dirt piles... erm... patches. Patches. That is a very confusing gesture. The second is used to cure Snow Fever."
Lightningpaw took a pause here, her ears twitching at the memory of the events that led to her being chosen as a medicine cat apprentice. It had been... horrible, really. Watching her clanmates ill with no way to cure them. With nothing working. With StarClan providing no clues until it was too late for some. No wonder Cowtuft had chosen an apprentice after that. StarClan's help was... sparse at best. It was probably best at the time to take matters into his own paws.
"It helps those who are afflicted with signs of chills, nausea, and fever. It is a highly infectious disease, and the plant can only cure those who have the very earliest of stages. It seemed that any who had advanced into tremors might be too late," the Abyssinian mix continued her explanation, falling quiet when her mentor spoke up for the first time since the others had arrived.
Eyes round, she turned to him with a curious expression. Who was this cat who'd coaxed the normally silent black and white tom to say her name? Out loud! This was unheard of, Cowtuft speaking to so many cats all together! And the way he spoke of her... Was she... was she a retired medicine cat that had worked with Cowtuft before? Her mentor wasn't quite that old! She'd heard the other clans went through high ranks faster than a WindClan cat could run through the moors and back again, but to have two retired medicine cats that the tom knew seemed... excessive at best.
"Are you familiar with her?" Lightningpaw asked curiously, tilting her head in query, forgetting to translate for once. Any cat who got her mentor so chatty - one word was a lot, okay - definitely piqued her interest.
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@
x ghostie [Cowtuft] | @
Omari [Drizzlecloud] | @
Ravensong [Elmshadow] | @
carmen.
[Stonepaw] | @
ares [Springpaw]