[lone]

Originally Posted by Mauve

A little bit of surprise flickered across the warriors expression as Caliapaw mentioned checking the injury for infection. Emberwing hadn't expected the young medicine cat to pick up on it. Straightening herself up just a bit and lifting her head, almost as if to hide this fact. "Well, it's certainly good that Wheatfur taught you about infections before his untimely death," she purred, obviously relieved that her flank scratch would be treated with attention. It still scared her a little bit to put the fate of her first battle wound in the hands of a mere apprentice, but Emberwing didn't exactly see any other choice.

It had been quite a while since Wheatfur's death at the Gathering, and it was something those who knew him in the Clan still mourned. Emberwing simply grieved for the lost of a knowledgeable medicine cat - despite the tom's warrior background. She'd feel safer if it were him treating her injuries, and not some young she-cat who probably had other things on her mind. "So..." the ThunderClan warrior started, glancing around at the slightly unkept den. She figured it was because of the stream of battle wounded clients that had come into the den that it wasn't in spick-and-span shape, and she winced slightly at the sight. "You must travel frequently to WindClan, or ShadowClan, in order to learn about herbs right? Since you're still young?" She didn't mention 'inexperienced', but with the tone she'd used she might as well have. Her question wasn't meant to be hurtful, but that tone suggested all of the cautiousness she had in getting treated by Caliapaw - without her really realizing it.

Her eyes leveled back onto Caliapaw, studying the younger she-cat with a curious expression. "What made you want to not want to train as a warrior, anyways?" she questioned, honestly wanting to know. Emberwing knew nothing about the herbs Caliapaw was chewing, and it stunned her as to why others sometimes chose this lifestyle. Didn't every cat want to learn the art of battle, so they could defend their Clan? Didn't ever cat want to be able to run free throughout the territory and not be bogged down by sick patients? Especially with a young feline like Caliapaw, she had so much potential. She could be a great warrior, free of any kind of disability - but instead, she chose to spend her days in the medicine den. Emberwing didn't quite understand, but she fought hard to at least settle her disappointment in the young feline. This is a job for some cat who's unfit to train as a warrior, some cat with an injury or something, Emberwing thought in dismay as she continued to study the medicine cat, not a young, shining she-cat who could be a great addition to ThunderClan as a warrior...

Caliapaw didn’t respond to Emberwing’s first statement, instead continuing to chew the herbs and keeping one eye on the other cat. She was a little bitter at the remark - how inexperienced did the warrior think she was? Did she think Wheatfur had taught Caliapaw nothing? That only frustrated the feline more, as she struggled to keep her emotions under control - the logic of the situation was that it was natural to be concerned about who was treating you, how inexperienced they were, and it was natural to be glad that they were more experienced than you thought. However, just the relief in Emberwing’s voice was enough to make the young feline angry. Furious, even. Her thoughts were jumbled - she couldn’t even remember if she had given her usual “this is going to sting” comment as she dripped the juices into the wound.

Once she’d used enough, she dropped the now-chewed leaves onto the ground of the medicine cat’s den and gave Emberwing an uncertain look. ”I haven’t been to any of the other Clans yet. Zerosight came in once, and taught me a couple of things. Wheatfur taught me everything else I need to know right now. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem, not mine.” Perhaps it was the second comment, suggesting that she should go to the other Clans, that pushed the she cat over the edge to make the last remark. She hadn’t needed to add it, and it had been a mistake - but one that she could no longer take back. Not that she was sorry about it at all, oh no. She acknowledged that it had been a mistake, but it was not a mistake that she was sorry for. It was just one of “those things.”

”Good question. Now let me ask you one - if Wheatfur had approached you, saying that he wanted you to be his apprentice, would you have said yes or no when you were my age?” Before the warrior could have had much time to answer, Caliapaw continued speaking. ”I considered it an honor. And I was able to appreciate the things medicine cats do. It’s not that I don’t want to train as a warrior, it’s that I want this more.” Maybe that was true in the beginning. But now? Now Caliapaw felt like she was sort of stuck with this. There was no one else ready to jump into the position - she would let everyone down, something bad would happen if she were to leave it.

That wasn’t even to mention that she was already pretty old to be going back to warrior training - it would just be too much to try and get back into it now. Giving the injury another look, Caliapaw grabbed a couple of cobwebs and placed them on the wound, her golden eyes narrowed as she did so. Her tail was twitching furiously, in an attempt to calm herself. Emberwing had rubbed her the wrong way, even with just a few innocent questions - whether she’d known it or not. Caliapaw was already having not the best day, and the more cats who came in injured, the more she seemed to be having trouble.