Private Thread Mint in the Paw

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Whap. The pebble flew for a tail-length before landing on soft ground. Petalsnap flicked an ear in irritation at the mediocre shot, briskly retrieved it and repeated the exercise: she tossed the small stone into the air on the back of her paw (with as much force as possible, and ideally in a straight line towards the sky) and cuffed it before it fell (sometimes aiming at a target but usually focusing on hitting it as hard and far as possible). It was a less practical exercise than some, but well-suited to solitary training sessions, and Petalsnap felt she needed a break from running laps. 

Her paw smacked squarely into the pebble and whizzed away toward the border until she lost sight of it. She followed its trajectory to a patch of herbs, where it had indeed landed, but halted when she spotted another cat there—a RiverClanner, judging by his scent. Her ears flattened, and she suddenly felt angry with herself for failing to notice his presence before. 

"Hey, what are you—oh," Petalsnap had intended to ask the cat what he was doing nearly crossing the border—and all on his own, too—but after a few strides in his direction she recognized him as the RiverClan medicine cat and relaxed. "Nettleplume, right?" She asked, demeanor softening.

rise from the smoldering pyre of wormwood and weeds
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Nettleplume's attention was on the herbs, claws carefully loosening another stem.The sharp, refreshing scent immediately rose around him, and for the first time in several days, some of the tension eased from his shoulders. He always felt most at home out in the field, doing medicine cattery. But then he looked up, pale blue eyes narrowing briefly before settling on the approaching WindClan warrior.

One that, judging by how the patrol had discussed that eventful fight, he recognized. The medicine cat sat back from the herbs, brushing a few stray leaves from his paws as Petalsnap approached. His gaze lingered for a heartbeat longer than normal, recalling the aftermath that followed the rogue's death.

"That's me." He meowed in greeting, albiet dryly. "And you're Petalsnap." Neither warm nor cold. Aspenberry, the previous WindClan deputy had fallen victim to the Mad Rogue's last attack - even Rowanglade couldn't reverse death. It would be...proper to show remorse towards her, right? He cleared his throat.

"My condolences to WindClan." He believed he was making some grand spectacle about it. Nettleplume lowered his gaze to the water mint, carefully plucking another healthy stem with his jaw before setting it atop his growing pile.

"Aspenberry gave more than should have been required of any cat." He recalled that Coldstar seemed almost...endeared towards the once deputy, if only by her skill and decorum. High praise coming from Coldstar.

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Petalsnap was surprised that Nettleplume recognized her so quickly. She had never spoken to him before, after all. 

"She was a great warrior," Petalsnap gave the bland response with a solemn nod. She herself had always tended towards a casual style of speech, so she felt a little silly echoing Nettleplume's formality. Still, the topic warranted it. I like him, she decided as she took a seat near the edge of the water mint patch. Behind her, her banded red tail made up for her stationary position by swishing and flipping continuously.

Her eyes fell to his pile of herbs, and she leaned forward to get a better look at Nettleplume's work. Mint. She had never much enjoyed the strong fragrance of such herbs. If Nettleplume minded the smell, he didn't show it. You must learn to like it after a little while. "Could you use any help?" She asked, dark eyes flicking back up to him.

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Nettleplume glanced up from the water mint at the offer. Most warriors treated herbs as something mysterious and few ever volunteered to help gather them unless specifically asked. "Possibly." He mewed after a thoughtful pause.

"If you want to help...you can move the stems into the grape leaf I've brought." He gestured with his nose to the wide leaf on the other side of him.His nose twitched as he caught his own scent, less of his own and more herb dusted - a bit of lavender from his own den and a bit of the mint.

"I don't usually get offers from warriors. Especially those from other Clans." His tone was matter of fact rather than suspicious as he bent down and inspected another plant, eyeing the stem before passing it over as he moved to the next. Satisfied he clipped it and put it in the first pile.

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Petalsnap gave a dutiful nod and stepped over to the indicated pile. She had never had the chance to help a medicine cat before! In fact, she had never even watched one work so closely. As an apprentice, she had directed her attention in the sole direction of battle training and hunting practice. Medicine had never much interested her until now—the recent experience of witnessing Aspenberry’s death seemed a likely culprit. The thought passed like a grass blade’s flickering shadow, gone in a moment to be replaced by more consequential and solid things.

Slowly and gently, Petalsnap picked a few stems up in her mouth and set them into the grape leaf. “Do you often meet warriors from other clans while out gathering herbs?” She asked in response to his remark, rather at ease herself.

Once sure the mint had made the transfer to the leaf undamaged, she continued moving the mint stems. Her work was slow, much slower than Nettleplume’s, out of caution and inexperience. She would have hated to accidentally ruin his herbs.

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Nettleplume watched her work, eyes narrowing closely even as he pretended to keep his distance. Far more closely than was probably necessary...His eyes followed each stem from the moment she lifted it until it settled into the grape leaf. The first few were met with silence, though his ears twitched with restrained commentary.

But...eventually, restraint failed him. "A little less pressure." He voiced over her shoulder, before adding. "The leaves bruise easily." He hummed a note as he watched her again. It wasn't long after before he added...

"And try to keep the stems facing the same direction. They'll be easier to bundle later." He took a moment to tear himself away from monitoring her to clip another sprig, but soon gravitated to her manners again.

"Not quite that close together - and oh, this one has some insect damage." A quick paw hooked the offending stem and tossed it aside. When he thought his mind might settle, he instead fixated on a longer than usual stem. "Actually...that stem should sit beneath the shorter ones to prevent bending and breaking."

He wasn't managing the level of critiquing leaving his maw, and he blinked point blank at her. "I..." A rare flicker of embarrassment crossed his otherwise composed features. "No...Not often at all." He flashed her a brief, forced smile as if his actions could all be explained away by his awkwardness.

"The medicine cats know where herbs grow. Warriors know where prey runs. Our paths don't cross much. That's just how things are."

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Petalsnap received each correction deferentially and with a nod of acknowledgement. She unconsciously sat up a little straighter and tucked her paws, a habit from her apprenticeship. Of course, she had known medicine cattery was complicated, but she was still surprised by how much she could get wrong. StarClan, I'm hopeless. In comparison to Nettleplume, anyway—he seemed so precise in his work. All the more reason to heed his words, and she did her best to, resigning herself to the painfully dissatisfying reality of her lack of experience with herbs. 

"That makes sense," She responded to his explaination.

After a bit more work, a question occurred to her, and she voiced it. "Will you choose an apprentice soon?” Nettleplume was RiverClan's sole medicine cat now, wasn't he? 

rise from the smoldering pyre of wormwood and weeds
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Petalsnap's question made his teeth pause at the stem, eyes losing focus as if it were fixed somewhere else. Talk of apprentices stirred up muddy waters that stirred something uncomfortable up in him. Muddypaw. For a fleeting heartbeat he pictured the young ShadowClan she-cat on RIverClan land instead. StarClan could have led her to him just as easily.

Instead...They had led her to Rowanglade. A cat who already had an apprentice. Nettleplume's jaw tightened along the edges as he did his best to bury that feeling where it belonged. Not every path was his to question....

He lifted his head. "A medicine cat doesn't simply decide they'd like an apprentice one morning. One can look but StarClan decides when another is needed." With a thoughtful twitch of his whiskers, his thoughts continued even if he didn't say them out loud. When it was needed, they'd send an omen - he'd just have to be vigilant enough to spot them.

"Until then..." His shoulders lifted in the smallest shrug. "RiverClan has me." Although he didn't seem to outwardly show it, there was pride in his words. He had great aspirations for RiverClan...perhaps that was why him and Coldstar got along so well. His blue eyes flashed as he turned his head at her. "Apprentices are a grave responcibility. One you shape for the rest of their life. I'd rather wait for the right cat to teach than waste my efforts on the wrong one."

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Petalsnap almost smiled but managed to keep her face straight as she dipped her head in agreement. This medicine cat was so serious. Right to be, of course, but still, it amused her as much as earned him her approval. She considered the possibility that he was only acting so stiff and blunt because he disliked or distrusted her, and decided that the likelihood of this was high, but of little consequence.

Nettleplume was absolutely right about mentors, she thought. Basilflame had had a more profound effect on her than any other cat. She wondered first if that would continue to be the case, then whether she wanted it to be. If nothing else, she knew she wanted to impact other cats. What else could StarClan expect her to do with the time and breath they had given her? 

After allowing the remainder of her task to pass in silence, Petalsnap addressed Nettleplume once more, "I'm finished with the stems. Would I only get under your paws if I stuck ar– stayed any longer?" 

rise from the smoldering pyre of wormwood and weeds
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Nettleplume gave the neatly arranged bundle a scrutinizing glare, blue eyes tracing every stem. For a long moment he expected something to happen, but when his appraisal passed he finally sighed with clipped satisfaction. Her question almost caused the tom to groan, but instead he lifted his gaze. "Yes. You would..."

The answer came with such simple honesty...if he didn't take a second breath. "Is what I would say if I wasn't done here."There wasn't any malice behind it. It was refreshing to be able to speak ones mind without worrying about what others may think. Especially some WindClan warrior.

He gathered the edges of the grape leaf together. Nettleplume tended to work faster alone and had a habit of hovering, but there was one last bit of business the medicine cat had to do.

He cleared his throat and tested the words in his head before he spoke them. "Thank you for your time. You may let Rowanglade know of this patch of water mint in case she is not aware." That seemed...appropriate enough, even if he did spent most of that correcting her as she went. He dipped his head to secure the bundle in his teeth and he trotted towards RiverClan camp.

The reason people have problems is that they have too much time to think

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Though hardly surprised by Nettleplume's words, Petalsnap felt irrationally disappointed with herself. 

"Of course." She replied as he picked up the grape leaf parcel. Her eyes followed him briefly as he turned and began on his way. Then, counting the meeting officially concluded, she turned her face to the sky, made note of the sun's position, and considered her plans for the rest of the day. Though she had enjoyed the pause in her training, she would have to make up for it before she returned to camp. She could run some laps, maybe? One could never go wrong with those. Or perhaps some hunting would be more productive…