Would Anyone Notice?

[JustMallory]

Sootpaw stared at the snow in front of him, eyes lowered with boredom. He was in the process of trying to figure out exactly what color white the snow was. Right now he was stuck between Ivory and Bone. Flicking his tail crossly, he decided on Ivory, tired of spending his time thinking about snow. It was bad enough that he had to sit in it, and he didn't enjoy the cold air that radiated off of it. He raised his eyes looking around that camp, seeing nearly no one else. As he cast his pale blue gaze towards the entrance, he pondered. I wonder if anyone would mind if I left camp to go exploring. Turning his head, he checked to make sure no one was looking. It was clear, but he found that he couldn't make his legs move, and he knew why. His mentor, Eveningstar herself, would be furious if he left camp alone. Her disappointment was enough to keep even him, the bold tom rooted to the ground. Unless something inspired him, he thought he would just be sitting here forever.

[amunet]

As Eveningstar exited the medicine den, she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Sootpaw? Curious, she looked around and saw the young tom sitting in the middle of camp staring at the snow. She wondered what he was doing out here all alone, instead of playing with his fellow apprentices or tending to the elders, then remembered that Ducktail had sent out several hunting and border patrols.

She decided to give him a little company. As the older she-cat settled in next to her apprentice, she said, "Hello, young one. What brings you out into the cold?"

[JustMallory]

Sootpaw's ears flicked up a moment before Eveningstar spoke. He turned to face the respected she-cat and nodded his head gently. There weren't a surplus of cats Sootpaw respected, but Eveningstar was an exception. She was not only his leader, but his mentor. To tell the truth, Sootpaw loved having Eveningstar as his mentor. It wasn't often that a leader took an apprentice, and meant a great deal if they did. Not only that, but she was patient, and kind. She also knew how to catch on to Sootpaw's expectations. She always had something fun planned. "It's better out here than it is stuck in the apprentice den." He spoke somewhat bitterly, but it wasn't directed towards Eveningstar. All of his friends and many of the other warriors had been put on patrols. Sootpaw was stuck at camp. Sighing, he gave a shrug. "If I'm out here, at least something might happen."

[amunet]

Eveningstar twitched her whiskers in amusement.
"Ah, bored, I see," she purred. "I'm surprised you didn't get up to any mischief. I would have, when I was your age. I was quite the trouble-maker."
She turned to face her apprentice, a playful glint dancing in her golden eyes. "What rascality did you have in mind today, Sootpaw?"

The older cat knew that anything against the warrior code was out of the question, but... well, she was bored too. With no cats in the camp to ask her questions, and Honeypool and Owlpaw bickering between themselves, Eveningstar could use some lighthearted activities. Leafbare was a stressful time for all the Clans.

[JustMallory]

Sootpaw couldn't help but feel his mood lighten as he looked at his mentor. A smile twitched at the edge of his mouth, eyes beginning to reflect Eveningstar's light demeanor. I was thinking about it. Trouble seems to find me all the time nowadays. When the she-cat posed the question to him, he raised an eyebrow, his back straightening in anticipation. He had wanted to go exploring, and here was his chance. "Well, I haven't seen the twoleg farm yet." His mentor had shown him all of Snowclan territory, but had never gotten the chance to head there. "I've always wanted to catch a chicken!"

[amunet]

Eveningstar's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Twoleg farm it is, then," she said with a purr. "Why don't you go ask Honeypool and Owlpaw if they'd like to tag along? I'm sure we can find precious catmint there along the way."

She rose and stretched out her limbs as she said this, giving Sootpaw an affectionate lick on the forehead.

[JustMallory]

Sootpaw's spirits soared as Eveningstar agreed to his journey. "You're the best, Eveningstar!" The mottled gray tom jumped to his paws and kneaded them excitedly on the ground. When the she-cat mentioned the medicine cats, Sootpaw nodded quietly. "That's a great idea." He liked the medicine cat's and appreciated what they did for the clan. They had earned his respect, even Owlpaw, who was younger than him. He began to pace, his tail flicking side to side, words flowing from his mouth. "I can show Owlpaw what you've been teaching me. He'll be so jealous that he's not being a warrior." As his mentor leaned down to lick the apprentice's forehead, he purred. "Shall we go get them then?"

[amunet]

Eveningstar's heart swelled with affection for the young cat. She loved seeing his enthusiasm, so rarely shown in the cold days of leafbare. "I'm sure young Owlpaw would love to see the skills you've learned. Let's go fetch them."

The older she-cat padded back to the entrance of the medicine den. "Honeypool? Owlpaw?" she called to them.

[Lemonade]

Honeypool was feverishly counting herbs in the back of their den. She had yet to reprimand Owlpaw for his atrocious behavior at the gathering, but it was just as well. If the skinny she-cat did any more shouting than she had to, she was likely to collapse from overexertion and she would be the one curled up in the medicine cat den with some cat shoving herbs under her nose.

Despite her prideful reluctance to ask the other clans for help, their catmint stores were definitely dipping dangerously low, and the leaves of their stock plants were too dried, the roots too demolished, for her to try and plant some of her own to remedy their deficit.

Her head lifted from her work as Eveningstar called her name. Blue eyes were dreamy and lost looking. Leafbare was an awful season for SnowClan's overworked medicine cat. It made her look haggard. All of her liveliness was buried with the snow, but at least it should return with the melting of Newleaf. She flourished with her herbs. "Eveningstar?" Heaving herself to her feet, Honeypool padded to the den entrance. "I've just sent Owlpaw out to run an errand. What do you need me for?"

[amunet]

"Ah, I wondered where he had gone," the leader said, peaking around the medicine den. She nodded to the ever-dwindling pile of catmint leaves. "I was just about to take Sootpaw to the twoleg farms for the first time. Perhaps you would care to escort us, and find a few herbs along the way?"

The purr in her voice was apparent, if to do nothing more than soothe Honeypool's frayed nerves somewhat. She had, earlier, observed Honeypool's emaciated body. The medicine cat's current state worried her, though it had been the same every leafbare since her mentor had died. Eveningstar would have to keep a better eye on the thin she-cat, and make sure she ate her fair share instead of leaving it for the warriors. Eveningstar herself would starve before she let Honeypool do the same.

Other concerns bubbled forth as well, most prominently the clouds over the moon. She made a note to ask Honeypool about them once Sootpaw was preoccupied.

[Lemonade]

Honeypool kneaed her paws into the ground, watching the leader look around with a wary awareness of the pitiful state of their herb stocks. Her ears pricked forward at the suggestion, and a purr rose to match Eveningstar's. "Oh that sounds lovely!" She sighed with relief. "It would be a good experience for Owlpaw to go too, but its best to get along as quickly as possible, so we'll just have to make do without him this time!"

She considered putting together some packs of traveling herbs for the three of them, but taking one look at the withered leaves she had just been examining, she realized they would have to go without. The twoleg farms weren't that far anyway. She slipped out of the den without the herbs, and shivered in the cold air. "Alright, I'm ready!"

[amunet]

Eveningstar backed out of the medicine den and flicked her tail for the two to follow her. "Here we go, Sootpaw. Let's brew up some shenanigans," she said with a purr, exiting through the camp's entrance.