Emberpaw's question

[Fallinggaze]

Emberpaw was eating a small vole, when a thought struck her: what if she became a medicine cat apprentice? She enjoyed hearing about StarClan, and the different prophecies they gave other cats in their dreams. She also thought how the different herbs had different effects on cats was interesting. So, Emberpaw wandered over to Seastar's den, and called lightly to Seastar.

[Seafeather]

Seastar

A small kit, almost an apprentice, walked to the front of Seastar's den. "Seastar?" It called. It was Emberpaw, no doubt coming to ask her to be an apprentice. Seastar chuckled lightly. Kits. Always in a hurry to grow up.

"Come in Emberpaw." She called lightly. She flicked her tail for the kit to take a seat in front of the tortoiseshell leader.

[Fallinggaze]

Emberpaw approached the leader boldly. This is it. thought Emberpaw If I want to be a medicine cat, then I'll at least try!

"I was wondering if I could be a medicine cat apprentice." The words flew out of Emberpaw's mouth, and she was happy to have gotten it over with.

[Seafeather]

Seastar

"I was wondering if I could be a medicine cat apprentice." Emberpaw said. This, honestly, didn't surprise Seastar. She'd seen Emberpaw wandering over to the medicine cat den for quite some time. She wondered why it took her so long to ask.

"I don't mind," She said. "Just as long as Smokeleaf doesn't mind." Amusement crossed Seastar's face. Good luck with that. She thought.

[Fallinggaze]

Seastar's words echoed in Emberpaw's head. Emberpaw's next task awaited her though. She must ask Smokeleaf if she may become her apprentice. Knowing the difficulty of this task seemed to have shoved Emberpaw into the ground, and force her to kept walking. Knowing Emberpaw, not only would she keep walking, but she would run; hard and fast.

"Thank you, Seastar!" closed Emberpaw trying to keep calm.

Emberpaw dipped her head politely, and left Seastar's den to go and find Smokeleaf.

As Emberpaw approached Smokeleaf's den, her stomach turned upside-down, and spread all around. Don't worry, thought Emberpaw. You know that everything is always best in the end. Proceeding forward, she poked her head through Smokeleaf's den.

"Hello, Smokeleaf? I was wondering if-" the words didn't come out as easy as they did when she was talking to Seastar. If she could ask the leader, clearly, the medicine cat couldn't be so hard. "-if I could be your apprentice." Victory. But Emberpaw was not finished yet, to ask is one thing, but if she added on, it would give her bigger chances to become a medicine cat! "I find interests in herbs, and in StarClan, I feel being a medicine cat would be a great responsibility to take on."

[fαllεη •]

"Hello, Smokeleaf? I was wondering if-"

Rivershadow raised an eyebrow, glancing around the empty den. It was the morning that Spottedwing and he were supposed to be working in the elders' den, but Smokeleaf had spotted him on his way over and had frog-marched him to the den to get his cut looked at. She'd dressed his cheek with cobweb, entirely ignoring his complaints that the dressing would just fall off again during the day. The crotchety old cat never listened to him --she never listened to anyone. And she imagined he'd really stay here while she went to get more mouse-bile? No sir!

"If you're looking for the old badger, she's gone out," the tom meowed, cutting Emberpaw off mid-sentence. Couldn't the she-cat see that her precious herb-biter wasn't there? Rivershadow had places to be. He was supposed to be out hunting by now, but Smokeleaf had told him to stay. He was supposed to be helping Spottedwing -flinch- but that didn't appeal either. The dark tom just couldn't win.
"Try out of camp by the dead pine," he added over his shoulder, before padding out into the sunlight. Oh yeah, this day was... He felt the bile rising on his tongue. If the day got any worse, the fusty coot wouldn't need to hunt mice.

OOC: Sorry, I couldn't resist XD

[Fallinggaze]

Emberpaw looked around, and saw nothing of Smokeleaf. The only cat in the den, was RIvershadow with cobwebs on his cheek. Emberpaw was even more convinced to become a medicine cat. Wait, that's not what being a warrior or medicine cat just is. thought Emberpaw. I can't believe I just thought that!
"Thank you," replied Emberpaw. Though she was determined to find out what happened to Rivershadow's cheek, she exited the den, and went to get permission to leave the camp. Wait, thought Emberpaw just as she left the den. Can't I just ask Rivershadow? Emberpaw had never left the camp before, so she had no idea what to do. She poked her head inside of Smokeleaf's den.
"Am I allowed to ask you if I can leave the camp to find Smokeleaf?"

[fαllεη •]

"Am I allowed to ask you if I can leave the camp to find Smokeleaf?"
Rivershadow, who had just left the den, turned around to see Emberpaw going back into it and then asking the empty air a question. The tom furrowed his brow. Something was clearly not right with the apprentice: even to him, it was obvious that she needed the medicine cat's attention.
"Emberpaw... I'm over here." He waved his tail in a 'look here' gesture.
"Yeah, sure, go ahead."
Rivershadow knew he was supposed to go with the apprentice, but he was so late... And yet she was a newly-named apprentice. he cursed mentally; he'd have to go with her. She wouldn't know the dead pine from a ball of mousedung. "I mean, come on. You're not allowed to go out of camp on your own."

Hoping that Emberpaw was able to keep up with him, he bounded out of camp as fast as he could, paused only to check that she was still following him, and then threw himself into a loping, fast-paced run. He'd have to get her to Smokeleaf and back before Seastar finally decided that her punishment wasn't good enough for him, and gave him something worse to think about.
The familiar roads of FrostClan's territory soon melted into one he recognised as the route to the dead pine, and he took it without hesitation. Sure enough, there was the medicine cat, collecting some bitter-scented herbs nearby.
"Smokeleaf," he called, his voice gruff and panting slightly from the run. "Apprentice here. Your responsibility now."
And with those unwelcoming words, he turned tail and sped back to camp as if Seastar's claws were already cutting scars down his tail.

[Fallinggaze]

Following Rivershadow out of the camp, Emberpaw sprinted after him. Finally, he stopped, and Smokeleaf's scent filled Emberpaw's nose.
"Smokeleaf, apprentice here. Your responsibility now."
Emberpaw didn't want to seem like a responsibility or too much to handle. So with Smokeleaf appearing into sight, she dipped her head respectfully.
"Hello, Smokeleaf." This is it! I have no choice not to ask her now! You came do it, Emberpaw, you can do it!
"I was wondering if-" Emberpaw looked into Smokeleaf's eyes boldly. She wanted to make sure it was actually Smokeleaf she was talking to; not Rivershadow, not Seastar. Smokeleaf was listening, she had to ask. "-you could take me as an apprentice, and help me learn to be a medicine cat." Emberpaw had finally asked Smokeleaf. She felt as though the confidence would fly right through her fur, but it stuck there like a tic. However, every tic is unwanted. This tic, however, is welcomed.

Victory has struck me, but will it be tragic, or glory? I must find out. thought Emberpaw. Come on, Emberpaw, you mustn't lose your courage. Emberpaw looked up to Smokeleaf, and silently waited for her answer. The answer- what will decide Emberpaw's future. Emberpaw longed to force the answer out of Smokeleaf, but just waited silently, for she opened her mouth to speak...

[fαllεη •]

Edited, owing to its not making sense.

From somewhere in the bushes there came the sound of grumbling. Something about Rivershadow's... taste for thyme? Or could that have been 'wasting time?' Either way, as soon as Smokeleaf stepped back out of the bush she had been harvesting, the entirety of the situation rapidly made itself apparent. Rivershadow had left her. Alone. With Emberpaw.

It had always perplexed the medicine cat why Emberpaw was an apprentice when no mentor had been assigned to her: that was one of the most fundamental parts of the ceremony. Touch noses with mentor, swear to be a good apprentice, all that jazz. But apprenticeships weren't what bothered her now: it was the low supply of herbs. She'd been stocking up all year; of course she had. But things were beginning to get tough, and cobweb was proving ever more challenging to get one's paws on --not to mention the rich patch of celandine that usually grew here at other times of the year. Snow was throttling the forest, and it was all she could do to wait for summer to melt its icy grip.

The little apprentice didn't seem too out of breath from the long run, and Smokeleaf had to admit (to herself only) that she was a little impressed. Rivershadow kept up a good pace; so he should, spending most of his time moping around the territory and then going out on every patrol he could sink his teeth into. Emberpaw was but six moons old, and running in the snow couldn't have been easy for such young legs. "Hello, Smokeleaf."
The medicine cat rolled her eyes. The stiffness and formality hadn't been a part of kits when she was Emberpaw's age. You spat it out or you missed your chance, and Smokeleaf had often jumped before the chance showed its chubby face.
"I was wondering if-" The apprentice was glaring at her intensely, as if by simple strength of vision she could somehow root the medicine cat to the spot. All it did was ruffle Smokeleaf's feathers. Mind you, she was beginning to wonder what brought the kit here that couldn't have waited until she returned to camp. It couldn't be something as trivial as a friend with a burr in their pelt. Things were frosty out here: Smokeleaf felt the chill in her paws, and standing still for long periods was just begging for someone to catch a cold --and treating that required herbs that she couldn't spare. "-you could take me as an apprentice, and help me learn to be a medicine cat."
Smokeleaf stood for a moment, appraising. Emberpaw, eh? The she-cat who was always getting beaten up by her brothers for some unfathomable reason. She didn't know the apprentice... But FrostClan had so few apprentices lately that it was impossible not to notice those three.

An apprentice. She'd been thinking about this moment for moons; she was getting old, had to pass on the responsibility eventually. She wasn't getting younger, all that rot. And yet some part of her had felt that this was to be her role forever. And Seastar... something broke in her expression. Why did Emberpaw have to find her this morning? Why couldn't she have had one morning to forget, or at least to dull the pain. She'd barely slept last night because of it; now there would be no frantic pacing in the medicine cat's den or even a solitary moment in the medicine cat's life. Smokeleaf didn't know if she could life with that
Emberpaw, Emberpaw, Emberpaw! Was this why Seastar hadn't given her a mentor: waiting for this moment! Traditionally, the medicine cat chose the apprentice, not the other way around. Pebbleleaf had asked her, and Smokeleaf had thought that she would... That StarClan would point out the apprentice to her and that would be it. But this... Emberpaw. She didn't know the apprentice, didn't know how well she'd do... But there was no shame in her changing back to the warrior path if she had to, was there? Smokeleaf had crossed many lines in her youth, and the boundary between warrior and medicine cat was one of them. Things were not as solid as cats always imagined: a deputy might never become a leader, just as a cat who was sworn to heal might become a fierce warrior. 'Or a leader who had a life ahead of her might be struck down by StarClan's cursed paws.'

Emberpaw seemed like as good a choice as any --and there was no way that she was going to mentor those rambunctious brothers of hers; their warrior path was crystal clear.
"All right, then," the medicine cat said, and the words brought a cold smile to her lips. An apprentice! Oh she hoped so much that this one was the right choice; Smokeleaf wouldn't back down now that she'd made her decision, however fluid she believed the lines of this world to be. Sticking with something, making it right even when the ingredients were wrong --that had been one of Pebbleleaf's instructions to her. She only hoped that she would live up to his, and even Emberpaw's, expectations. Seastar had to be brushed to the back of her mind: she had to be a mentor, not a grieving friend.

OOC: This is before Relief and Terror, otherwise Smokeleaf's faith in StarClan wouldn't make any sense ^^; And she would be a touch more upset XD

[Fallinggaze]

As Smokeleaf spoke, Emberpaw seemed to be hanging on every few words. She finished her sentence, and Emberpaw added everything up: "All right, then". Emberpaw's heart leaped with joy. She was a medicine cat apprentice! Well, at least she would be after the ceremony. How the Clan would watch her as she stood next to Seastar and Smokeleaf, as Seastar announced the big news. She gazed at Smokeleaf and with a smile, dipped her head in thanks. She thanked StarClan for this special day, and for her leader, and mentor.
"Thank you, Smokeleaf!" answered Emberpaw. "Do you need help with the herbs?"

Knowing she would need to know her herbs, she decided it would be good to learn a few now. After collecting the herbs, Emberpaw knew that she would have to have Smokeleaf lead her back to camp because Emberpaw herself never knew the forest well, and she was an apprentice. She wouldn't be allowed to go back alone if she even knew her way back. Then, she would tell Seastar, and her mother (Fallinggaze) the wonderful news.

Of course, the clan would find out as well about Emberpaw, especially when Seastar has a ceremony! The word rang in Emberpaw's mind with such wonderful news. She had done it. She spoke up, and achieved her goal. Now, she'd have to work hard to keep it.

Smokeleaf led Emberpaw back to the camp. "Thank you, Smokeleaf!" exclaimed Emberpaw. Then, Emberpaw gave a quick thanks to StarClan for letting her be a medicine cat. Immediately, Emberpaw then went to Seastar to tell her the exciting news.

Emberpaw reached Seastar's den, and quietly called to the leader. "Seastar, it's Emberpaw. I'm back from asking Smokeleaf." Emberpaw looked into Seastar's den. Seastar was no where to be seen.

"She's training with Dewpaw," called a voice behind Embepaw. Emberpaw turned around to see Firepaw. "She left right after you left to Smokeleaf's den."

"Thanks, Firepaw," answered Emberpaw. "Is the clan fed?" Emberpaw looked around at the surrounding cats.

"Yeah, want to share some fresh kill?" asked Firepaw.

"Sure." It was great to share fresh kill with Firepaw. In fact, they did share the same mother.