Closed Thread [Closed] Shadow of the Fourtrees

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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he had harvested a perfectly healthy leaf before debating if he should take more. They should be harvested fresh for his needs, or rather the needs of his friend. Struggling to feed more mouths than her body could handle. Hopefully she had hunted for herself recently - no doubt she had a mounting appetite.

His large frame was just about to slink to the next flowery herb, dipping through the near twilight like a shadow unseen. Here was a place where all cats could be welcome, in theory, medicine cats most so. Again, in passing theory. Stories passed down hinted otherwise, and perhaps that's what lured him to this spot in particular. To see where it had all happened.

Nose full of herb, he barely scented the approaching she-cat from behind. At least she had the decency to make her presence known, and coolly, the tom turned to regard her. Odd eyes level, his scrutiny marred with unmistakable curiosity. Her presence carried the aroma of Thunderclan - but there was something more. Hints of medicinal dens, delicious herbal after tones that seemed to the tom every bit intellectually arousing.

Brows lifting, he mewed an even. "You're the Thunderclan medicine cat, aren't you?" His tail waved in greeting, unable to help the brightness in his voice. "They are a friend in need, and certainly not my mate. That would be unbecoming of someone like us. Hypothetically, how would you harvest borage for a struggling queen with an inadequate milk supply?" Kosmo was eager to exchange thoughts with this she-cat, and what a pleasant surprise she was.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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Ears perked at the sound of her name. Finally! For so long he wondered what sort of names these cats may have - and while he understood the usual phenomenon of how names were given in the clans, hearing an organic one from her lips gave him a surge of confidence. She could have been lying to him, distracting his attention, but he didn't care.

"Tigerrush. Yes, well, it's nice to finally meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances. After what happened... " His voice trailed off slowly, white whiskers giving a considering twitch. He wondered how the she-cat was doing - the one he deemed unpredictable, rightly so.

Standing in a way not to seem like he was crowding her, the last thing he wanted to do was appear threatening. He cast a large shadow over her smaller one, and allowed her closer while taking a couple steps back. Her explanation harkened him back to his late apprenticeship - every word laden in medicinal explanation, beautifully clinical, informative - and he suspected she was younger than him too. Whoever taught her should be commended.

Yet when her recitation turned to lines of questioning, he felt the hopeful, eager willingness to express himself more to her begin to close. A bit more guarded, his words were offered softly, slowly. How dare she try in insinuate that he wasn't a medicine cat himself - Did she suspect he didn't check on his patient and friend? Ears flirting onto his skull, he replied.

"Recently, yes. They are fine, and will do well with steadfast proper meals. It's been so wet that it's been difficult to properly dry herbs, let alone store them in a place where they won't get ruined. It must be nice to have a proper den, and a sick den, for yourself."

He wanted to try and steer away the conversation from the queen, to one of her patients. Kosmo was careful, and respected the boundaries that Belladonna kept. They did not trust the cats of the clans, let alone want to meet them. Kosmo, however, wanted to learn more about these cats, so he mewed.

"I hope the she-cat warrior is well and back to her regular duties?".

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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Stiff legged as he watched the thunderclan cat, Kosmo had to actively calm himself down. Imagining the scent of poppy capturing his nostrils, or the flowery catmint that he had stolen from thunderclan lands before. A part of why the tom was so calm despite his nurtured bitterness about the clans was his use, and she might even say, reliance to the herbs he used. It kept his mind clear, and his claws sheathed - allowing him the oppertunity to view these cats as merely creatures inhabiting this forest instead of generational adversaries.

"Yes, well, I suppose I should apologize as well. I shouldn't be so against what would be a natural line of questioning. She doesn't share my amiability towards the clans as I do, and she's very protective of them. Sometimes I suspect she's a fiercer fighter than I - and certainly suspicious of your kin and of other cats in general." She had endured much in her life, and while he would never consider comparing the two of them, she had her own fair share of hardship when it came to the two-legged creatures who had once kept her.

"I may not have a sick den, but I have a few, small dry stores here and there, and while I'm...local, they've seen some use. You mentioned dandelion and caraway - Yes, I may have some seeds left. Dandelion is, at least, plentiful this time of year." He mused, his self soothing measures had some effect on the tom, limsb more loose and his half-tail slightly lifted. Hackles smoothed and ears attentive, his odd eyes blinked towards her with a nod.

"They were following the code, but, similarly, broke it. Their ignorance and eagerness for violence condemned them to strike at a medicine cat. I would not be the cat to punish them, but..." His eyes drifted to the murk of the forest surrounding fourtrees, strangely silent as if he were listening for something, craned above. "-something will, if you have not felt it already."

He brushed passed her, eyes seeking as they shifted from shadow to shadow protectively.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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There were other herbs punctuating the foliage, although Kosmo felt it would be rude to potentially harvest more in front of his guest. Not only that but he wanted to make sure the forest wouldn't be upset with taking more than he needed. Belladonna would appreciate the aide, and her kits could finally have a full meal.

Odd eyes swept over her briefly as she reasoned with herself out loud. Her confusion was expected... he didn't think he could ever be seen as an equal. The clans were rooted in uptight tradition, a shake up was just what the clans needed at the moment. Let her judge him and his motives - he had nothing to prove, nothing he could force her to see if the cat in question was blinded.

His head inched upwards, staring at the tiny fragments of light above them. "Starclan's gaze stretches far beyond Mothermouth - You do not know how far their voices whisper or guide. A rather stern assumption from one who should be open-minded." He smiled in the darkness, head shifting curiously at her own. Kosmo enjoyed carrying a mysterious aura that followed him where he went, and in the sacred land of Fourtrees, the quarter moon seemed ethereal on his pelt.

"The moon is high...I shant distract you from your mission." He mewed while turning to head towards the tunnel that dipped under the thunderpath bordering shadowclan territory. Should he need to cross, that would be the safest place. "Good night, Tigerrush."