Sunrise...

[Otterpaw]

Mottledface moved through her den quietly as she organized her supplies. Someone standing outside would not be able to tell that the medicine cats den was even occupied was it not for the soft rustle of ferns. It was early morning and many of her clanmates would still be asleep by now. But Mottledface was used to a busy life. When you were a medicine cat, there was no time to slack off. She needed to be prepared for anything and everything that could happen. So right now, she was busy checking all of her supplies and making sure she had enough of everything.

She carefully gazed across the stone walls and the leaves and plants that rested on the 'shelves'. The tortoiseshell bent to sniff at each pile, and occasionally threw out some of the more stale herbs that she found. Some things like poppy seeds could be stored for a long time, but watermint and thyme constantly needed to be replenished. There were plenty of herbs growing around the marshes, so getting them wouldn't be a problem. But it was such a bother sometimes!

Today, everything seemed to be in order. But Mottledface was a little bit worried when she noticed that she was running short on dock and goldenrod. These plants were both valuable for healing wounds, and you never knew when something like a border fight broke out, or maybe a fox attacked. I'd feel better if I had plenty of everything. The medicine cat thought. She decided that later today, she would go out to find the herbs she needed. She knew the perfect place to find some dock, but goldenrod could be a problem. The bright flower very rarely grew around the shadey ShadowClan territory. She would possibly have to visit another Clan to get some.

Mottledface sighed and sat down finally. She began to wash her paws and face, grooming herself for the day ahead.

[Roxie !]

With every step the young she-cat took, she winced slightly. Her left forepaw was raised off the ground slightly, resulting in a limp to her step as she made her away across camp. Brindlepaw, a spotted tabby apprentice, cursed her luck silently. It was just her luck, getting a thorn stuck in her pad practically moments after she left camp with the dawn patrol! It had been her first patrol, and she'd really been looking foreward to seeing more of ShadowClan's territory, but it seemed that fate had not decided to be kind to her today. She gave a soft, exasperated sigh. At this rate, Maplepaw and Hazelpaw would get much further ahead in training than her, and even be made warriors ahead of her! The apprentice's eyes flickered shut momentarily at this thought; she had to remind herself to be patient. Brindlepaw knew she was only over-reacting, a thorn in her paw wasn't something to get so worked up about.

Presently, the apprentice paused to sweep her gaze around the camp. It seemed mostly empty at this point. Of course, most cats would be either on the dawn patrol she had just left, or still asleep. Brindlepaw's ears twitched. She didn't want to make too much of a commotion and wake her Clan-mates, so without hesitating any longer, she headed straight for Mottledface's den. Hopefully, the medicine cat was still in her den and not out gathering herbs. Brindlepaw paused at the entrance of the fern tunnel, dipping her head to give her paw a few brief licks and wincing as she did so. That action had only agrivated the thorn more; perhaps it would be best to just go in and let Mottledface handle this.

Her sensible nature winning over her instincts to rasp her tongue over the wound, Brindlepaw shouldered her way into the the den. She paused half-way through, her eyes wide and anxious. If Mottledface was busy, she didn't want to disturb her. As she entered,however, Brindlepaw froze. She'd never been in the medicine cat's den, and it seemed so...sacred. Dappled sunlight sprinkled through the roof, only enough to illuminate the den in an eerie sort of light. The aroma of various herbs and plants drifted toward her. It was an unusual, minty sort of smell that the young apprentice found pleasant. Her amber eyes glittered with interest as she gazed around the den, finally resting on Mottledface's tortoiseshell form. The medicine cat was busy grooming herself, and Brindlepaw cleared her throat softly to announce her presence.

"...Mottledface?" The tabby called softly, dipping her head in respect. "Hello, sorry if I'm disturbing you." Brindlepaw's whiskers twitched uncomfortably. She hadn't been prepared for the mystical feel of the den, and she felt as if by breaking the silence that lingered here, she was vandalizing the fragile balance of the den. Brindlepaw wondered if the spirits of StarClan warriors were present here. It certainly felt like it. What about her parents, Coyotespirit and Bahrospirit? Pehaps Mottledface would have known her mother? At any rate, Brindlepaw felt closer to them than ever here.

Realizing that Mottledface would not have time to waste, the tabby gestered to her paw. "I got a thorn stuck in my pad when I went on the dawn patrol." She explained at last.

[Otterpaw]

Mottledface heard the patter of small pawsteps as someone walked into her den. She stopped cleaning herself and looked up to meet the gaze of a small tabby apprentice. 'Brindlepaw.' She recognized silently. This was one of the newly apprenticed cats she'd heard about, and she knew there names from the times she occasionally played with Brindlepaw and her siblings when they were kits. Mottledface dipped her head in greeting and smiled warmly. "Hello Brindlepaw." She'd always liked younger cats, and found them much more tolerable than some of the mouse-brained warriors.

She padded foreward and sniffed Brindlepaw's paw, smelling blood welling up behind the thorn. She shook her head slowly. Why couldn't her Clan-mates be more careful? "Oh my. Well, we'll take care of it." Mottledface reassured the apprentice gentley. She turned around and nosed around her shelves, pulling out some marigold. "This will stop any infection once I pull the thorn out, okay? Hold still, it might hurt a little." She warned. She bent down and clamped her teeth firmly around the thorn. Then Mottledface gave it a sharp tug. The thorn popped out quickly, so the tortoiseshell glanced up to make sure Brindlepaw was alright.

She pressed the marigold on the wound, not wanting it to bleed too much. "There. See? You're much braver than any of the warriors here. They come in all the time with thorns in their pads, wailing like kits!" Mottledface joked.

[Roxie !]

The anxiety in Brindlepaw's amber stare slowly turned to interest as the medicine cat approached her with the marigold plant. She took a careful sniff at the plant, and found its scent to be quite distinctive. Taking such a close whiff of the herb almost made her sneeze, and she drew back soon afterward. Still, the spotted tabby's expression was one of curiousity; that was one scent she wouldn't soon forget. Brindlepaw held her paw up a little higher and didn't protest as Mottledface took the base of the thorn in her jaws. Of course it would hurt, the apprentice had expected as much. But she was willing to tolerate anything in order to get the thing out of her pad, and the pain would be worth it. Even with this thought in mind, however, she couldn't help the ripple of anxious anticipation that ran down her spine. Amber eyes narrowed as Mottledface gave the thorn a sharp tug.

Brindlepaw withheld a gasp as the thorn came free, leaving a stinging ache where it had once been. She winced, eyeing the wound warily as bright blood ran down her paw. Her lip curled, but she made no complaints as the poultice was pressed onto the small wound. It stung a bit, but was soon followed by a pleasant cooling sensation. Brindlepaw gazed down at her paw in wonder, her eyes brightening. It had almost seemed like magic; the way her tortoiseshell Clan-mate had been able to get the pain to just ebb away as it had. Tearing her gaze away from the marigold-covered wound, she stared up at Mottleface in excitement. "Thanks, Mottledface!" The little tabby purred happily.

She gazed back to where the rest of the marigold still lay, her gaze wandering up to where the rest of the herbs were organized on the stone walls of the den. Her head tilted curiously. There were so many of them! Mottledface must've had to work hard to gather all of these. Brindlepaw thought seriously. The scents of all of the herbs mingled together and made her head spin as she tried to take them all in. The tabby gave her head a quick shake and turned back to the medicine cat. "There are so many herbs here. How do you remember all of them?" She asked in awe, her eyes wide now as she awaited an answer anxiously.

It seemed there was a lot more to being a medicine cat than one would think. Though Brindlepaw was anxious to get back into the forest and train with the rest of the ShadowClan apprentices, her mind was beginning to fill with a million different things that she wanted to ask Mottledface. Of course, she knew that there were some things the tortoiseshell could not tell her. The life of a medicine cat and the bond that they shared with StarClan was secret and sacred, or so she had always been told. Even so, she couldn't see the harm of staying here a bit longer to chat...as long as Mottledface didn't mind, of course.

[Otterpaw]

Mottledface nodded and licked the apprentice's forehead briefly. She drew back and looked at Brindlepaw curiously. She seemed to show a lot of enthusiasm for a cat who was having a thorn pulled out of her paw. Interesting. Mottledface had always loved the spirit in the hearts of the younger cats. Unlike many of the cats in ShadowClan, they were so uncorrupted. Everyone had flaws; everyone had a darker side. But apprentices had a refreshing innocence. Mottledface remembered fondly her own days as one. She'd always known the start where her path would lie. She was one of the lucky, Mottledface knew that some cats never figured out their destiny in life until they were nose to nose with it.

The tortoiseshell smiled warmly at Brindlepaw. A soft purr of amusement rose in ther throat. "Oh, it's not as hard as it looks." She assured the other cat. "Not when you get used to it, like all medicine cats have to. Besides, you can tell them all apart by their distinct scents. Can you smell them? The sweet one is cat mint, and the tangy one is dock..." Mottledface trailed off. She blinked a couple of times as if she was confused. 'I guess I got a little carried away. This poor apprentice doesn't want to be lectured by me.' She thought.

"Well. Your paw should be fine, but you should keep off it for just a little while. Run along now." Mottledface said gently.