In Smokeleaf's Den

[Fallinggaze]

The two warriors carried Ashtail into Smokeleaf's den.
"Hello Smokeleaf," greeted Ashtail. On the way back to camp, the two first warriors got tired, and had to switch with two other warriors. Ashtail was not just elderly, but a bit plump. Not chubby plump, but like a vole that ate too much in leaf bare.

[fαllεη •]

The elderly she-cat raised an eyebrow at the entering circus act. And just what did the old coot think he was doing, pulling this... Oh. Despite getting on in moons herself, Smokeleaf batted one of the warriors out of the way and took Ashtail's front half from him, carrying him to a bed of moss in the corner of the den. "And what were you trying to do this time, you ridiculous lump?" she snapped; but there was a trace of affection in her words. Ashtail was one of the oldest warriors, and Smokeleaf had been re-training as a warrior of FrostClan when she first met him. But this was no time for memories: she had to get that wound covered. It looked to be fairly shallow, but -- "How did you get this?"
The marks looked familiar; claw-like, but far too large and blunt to have been a cat's. She sniffed, then curled her lip in disgust. Badger: it had to be. No other animal had that acrid scent of urine, earth and wet dog. A poultice might be going a bit far, but she fetched some horsetail to spread over the wound to protect against infection. Then there were the cobwebs: the wound was deep and bleeding slowly but steadily, so with any luck her portly patient might pass out from blood-loss. She doubted that, though. Ashtail was a fighter; always had been. Firepaw was lucky to have him as a mentor... Though this wound would take a long time to heal, especially when accounting for Ashtail's age. She shot him a brief glance as she worked, eyes narrowed, asking without words. 'How could he have been such a stupid mouse-brain as to try tackling a badger on his own?!'.

[Fallinggaze]

"I know everyone doesn't like the thought of me trying to defend myself against the badger," started Ashtail. "But it was to defend the clan, and most of all, to defend Firepaw. If that badger got to him, he may have been injured so badly, he may not have been able to finish his warrior training." Ashtail knew that what he did was the right thing, no matter what they thought or said, he did his job to protect the clan. He had trouble, but it still helped the clan.

[fαllεη •]

Ashtail's words didn't make the medicine cat pause; she continued her work and finished bandaging him up without mishap. Ashtail might well have done this to defend Firepaw, but Smokeleaf firmly believed that running was always a better course of action in such circumstances. A badger was not an animal you wanted to face on its own terms: if you could flee far enough and fast enough to outrun the lumbering thing, you could be back to camp (unharmed!) in a heart-beat. She sighed, picking up the remainder of her horsetail and returning it to the shelf. Ashtail didn't seem to be reacting to the pain, she noted. A wound like that didn't come without cost; he was probably still up in the air over it all. Shock might set in soon, so he'd be better off if she sat with him for a while.
She raised an eyebrow and gestured to the warriors still standing by the "And if these warriors hadn't been there to save your mangy hide?"
Ashtail would've died there: no doubt about it. His age and his injury would have slowed him down, the badger would raise its claws... She flinched. It would have been over for Ashtail faster than he could've imagined. Badgers didn't toy with intruders like cats did.

[Fallinggaze]

"I still would've done it to help the clan. If that badger charged to the camp, they would freak out with the small warning," replied Ashtail. He knew his idea was stupid, but he felt confident. Suddenly, a thought occurred. Ashtail sprang to his feet. "I must speak with Seastar!" he shouted from his poor memory.

[fαllεη •]

'Still would've done it to help the clan'. She snorted at his words. No cat -she hoped- was stupid enough to risk his of her own life to achieve some false glory.
"If that badger charged to the camp, they would freak out with the small warning."
Smokeleaf shook her head. "They're warriors, not kits, Ashtail. You did leave some of them to fight off the badger, didn't you, or have they all become your personal litter?" Putting cats at risk was a necessity, but if Smokeleaf could find flaws in anyone's logic, be they kits or StarClan themselves, she would point it out and point it out with a good dose of sarcastic glee.

As quickly as Ashtail stood, Smokeleaf hissed under her breath and pushed him back down. "Stop putting weight on it! There, see what you've done?" The fresh clotting over his wound was broken, and blood was seeping back through the cobwebs. Warriors. Didn't they feel pain? it was there for a reason. Smokeleaf busied herself untangling a new bundle of the precious white gauze. 'They're running low again. Can't these warriors stop hurting themselves for five minutes?' Apparently not: his wounds should have been causing him pain, and yet here he was, bouncing around like a kit who'd raided the honey-leaf. Cats with 'Ash' names tended to be serious warriors, but Ashtail was looking more and more like a kit every minute.

Pressing her newest -and last- web of the soft threads onto Ashtail's wound, she resisted pressing a little harder to test if he really did feel pain. Surely he hadn't been injured deep enough to cause any lost of feeling? That would just be a bit much --and if it had done that and somehow missed the vein in the process, she'd eat her hat. Well, that's what Smokeleaf would have thought if she'd been human... and owned a hat... And knew what a hat was.

She came to her senses briefly enough to realise what Ashtail had actually said. "You!" she nodded at the warrior on the left. "You heard him. Get Seastar, before he bleeds all over this den."

[Fallinggaze]

Ashtail gave up with his confidence. He couldn't win the fight today. He quietly sat down after Smokeleaf finished what she was doing. Ashtail didn't want to have to stop training Firepaw now, he wanted to be able to continue at least a second longer. And with that thought, he got an idea.
"You!" shouted Smokeleaf. "You heard him. Get Seastar before he bleeds all over the den."
"And could you get Firepaw too?" asked Ashtail.
The warrior nodded, and walked out of Smokeleaf's den.

[Seafeather]

Seastar

Seastar had just almost fallen asleep when two warriors came up to her. "Ashtail said he needs to speak with you. And apparently right now by the way he's jumping around all over the place."

She sighed and headed toward the medicine cat den. She walked at a slow pace, wanting to enjoy the fresh air before she headed into the confusing scents of the medicine cat den. She also listened to the birds sing and...was that a cat voice? Oh..it was Smokeleaf. She must be on another rant about herbs being better in her early days. Seastar smiled at her clan mate's ranting. Oh Smokeleaf, what would we do without you? Seastar thought. Thanks to Snowstar we've had a great medicine cat who -though sometimes cranky and snappy- is the best medicine cat we've had in seasons!

Seastar glided into the den, "Ashtail, what is it that you want?" Seastar probably knew, but she liked to test the older warriors mind, to keep him sharp.

[Fallinggaze]

"Well," started Ashtail. "I think that sometime that we need to discuss who Firepaw's new mentor will be."

[fαllεη •]

Seastar's entrance was as smooth as the waters that gave her her name; almost like a proper leader. The medicine cat had found herself dipping her head lower than normal to her leader, which she halted midway through and tried to cover by collecting some of the horsetail that had fallen around Ashtail's wound. The bristly stems in her mouth reminded her, for some odd reason, of Snowstar. She hadn't really thought about their previous leader for a while now, and apologized to him mentally as she returned the horsetail to its place: nicely located between marigold and garlic roots. She breathed in the sharp scent of the second one, as Seastar asked Ashtail what he wanted with her. Smokelef started wondering how long it had been since Seastar had slept. It had been a few weeks since IvyClan's atrocious showing, and the Gathering was approaching soon. Seastar would need any advantage that she could get; falling on her face as in the last Gathering simply would not do, what with IvyClan on the warpath. She'd have to ask Nightleaf and Skyleaf where their clans stood in this fight. Surely no-one would defend Silenstar's actions? And after Duskwing's accusations of murder... Smokeleaf shuddered, but turned the gesture into a simple shaking of the coat, sending a few grey hairs flying. She hadn't told anyone about that, and it was beginning to nag at her. Maybe she could tell Seastar: then it could be her who confronted Silentstar about it... No. She rejected that idea immediately, giving it a mental stomping for good measure. She'd back Seastar, and FrostClan, for as long as she drew breath --well, as long as no-one insisted on being stupid again. And she certainly wasn't going to hide behind Seastar like some frightened kit! She snorted at the very idea.

But, back in the real world, Ashtail seemed hell-bent on being up-and-at-'em, regardless of that leg wound. He should be tired or something: it was getting dark outside. Loss of blood made any cat tired, and Ashtail's age meant that his body wouldn't exactly welcome the loss of precious fluids. Fluids. Dammit, she must be getting senile in her old age: she had to get him some water. Grabbing some moss from the furthest part of the den, she turned and was forced to drop the bundle again to speak to Ashtail. "I'm going to get you some water." Then to Seastar: "Don't let the great lump move too much, all right? He'll need rest."
Dipping her head -this time as shallowly as she normally did- to each of them, Smokeleaf picked up her ticklish bundle and exited the den.

A few moments later, the sound of a loud sneeze echoed into the den. There was some muttering, the sound of paws leaving camp, and then silence.

---

((OOC: We also need to hold Emberpaw's apprenticeship ceremony soon XD))

[Seafeather]

Seastar

Seastar listened to the elderly warrior about Firepaw. Yes, he did need a new mentor...but who? "Well then who do you think would be good for him?" She asked. While waiting for the pondering warrior to answer she realized something. When she walked in, what was that that Smokeleaf did? Did she...grovel?! No, it couldn't have been. Just a polite dip of the head for sure. Seastar and Smokeleaf had a complicated relationship, much like a mentor to an apprentice. But...maybe it was respect that she saw? Well that was a first. Squeezing respect out of Smokeleaf was like trying to teach a hedgehog to sing. But once you had her respect, you had it forever. Unless of course you do something unforgivable to her then you're off the list!

Smokeleaf also looked worried. She would have to speak to her about something. Seastar didn't know what, but what ever it was it sure was a burden. Seastar gave a sigh of exhaustion. She hasn't slept well in weeks. Weeks! Maybe a nap here and there but they were always interrupted by a crazed Silentstar and...a death...of someone she loved. But enough of that she returned to the present and asked Ashtail again, "So who do you think?"

[Fallinggaze]

Ashtail sat up from his position, and said, "I think that Iceglade would be a great mentor! Firepaw needs a bright future, and I'm sure Iceglade will give it to him."

[Seafeather]

Seastar

"Iceglade would be a great mentor!" She responded. She was fresh and was always nice to the kits and apprentices. "Okay, she'll be Firepaw's mentor. I will make sure she knows about this before the ceremony. But you," she said "have to get better to pass him on."

[Fallinggaze]

Ashtail dipped his head at Seastar's word. "I will, Seastar!" he said calmly. Then, from his sitting position, Ashtail lied down, and drifted to sleep.