. medicine . cat . [[part of the line]]

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Padding into her den, Ivorywing paused for a few moments to breathe in the soothing scents of the herbs that lined the walls in a different assortment of nooks and crannies. Although her temprament on the outside remained mild, she was secretly nearly panicking on the inside as different emotions fluttered in and out through her mind and heart. Maplestar was the son of a rogue? Maplestar, the loyal and brave EarthClan warrior? Was the son to a this rogue behind her, Bear? Even though medicine cat's emotions hardly broke through the surface to show on their features, Ivorywing could barely contain herself. A slight glimmer of confusion showed in her eyes, but Ivorywing knew that she couldn't let any of the cats in EarthClan see it. If a medicine cat didn't know the answer to their problems and their leader was too shocked of this news, what would become of EarthClan if they knew of the problems going on now?

Ivorywing moved into the deeper part of her den where shadows cast their eerie glance and threw other shadows everywhere as well. A faint dripping noise could be heard; the ceaseless little trickle of water that fell from the corner of the cave, causing a tiny stream of water that amounted into a small pool -- a quick way for any weak cat to get water.

The white medicine she-cat threw a glance over her shoulder, waiting to see if Bear would follow her into the den. Padding out of her den for a few moments to gather some moss as quick and makeshift bedding for the brown tomcat that bore a striking resemblance to Maplestar, Ivorywing brought the moss back into her den, settling it into a spot near the entrance of the cave.

"Any special fears that I must know about?" Ivorywing inquired to the brown tabby tomcat, tilting her head to the side for a moment as she observed Bear yet again, wondering where to place his bedding. If he were supposedly afraid of shadows, which was possible, his bedding would be placed somewhere at the mouth of the cave.

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[Battooth]

Bear slipped into the medicine cat's den and meowed, "Foxes now I guess." He looked around the den. "Nice place," he added. "This my nest?" He indicated the nest the she-cat had created. He blinked gratefully at her as he looked at it. It looked like it would be comfortable. "Other than foxes though, I'm not a fan of being in water. I'll drink it, I just won't swim." The idea that a cat would want to swim made Bear feel sick. He and water just didn't get along well. "When Lilypelt gave me Maplestar to raise on my own and I brought him, he fell into a stream and I nearly drowned trying to get him out," he added, explaining this fear. "Poor scrap nearly died."

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"Of course. That's where you'll rest for now," Ivorywing meowed in response to Bear's question, then listened with ears perked as he retold a summarized version of one of his stories. All the while, her mind was working to figure out the correct place in her den that she could put Bear's bedding.

Well, Ivorywing was pretty sure that foxes wouldn't come during Bear's stay, but if he was a little scared of them, she would put him deeper into her den, but not too deep, since after all, that small pool of water was all the way in the back of her den. "You're fond of Maplestar, aren't you," Ivorywing meowed. Although her sentence was in question form, her tone was in more of a tone that stated things instead of inquiring about things.

"Do you plan on leaving here and doing as your son says, or do you -- or any other cats since there are some I find trustworthy to speak to Maplestar about this and there are some who deserve to know who wouldn't provoke Maplestar for this -- want to try to speak to him again?" Ivorywing meowed, shifting the bedding of moss slightly deeper into her den.

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[Battooth]

Bear shrugged slightly, moving towards the nest. "I'm his father," he replied simply. "I'm supposed to be fond of him." He thought for a long time at Ivorywing's second question. What would Maplestar do if he approached him again? Probably unsheath his claws and attack. Bear wouldn't touch him either. He would take the beating and haul himself back to Ivorywing.

He would have someone talk to him. "Maybe," the enormous tabby said, "You can have that Battooth fellow talk to him. I know that he was his apprentice. Or that pretty she-cat Crystalrose- he's been giving her the eye even if he doesn't realize it. Or you of course. You've got a good head on your shoulders and you're the medicine cat." He closed his eyes a moment. It was painful that the tabby leader didn't like him.

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[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Ivorywing nodded at Bear's answer to her first statement. What was the world when cats didn't love their own kin? Her ears twitched as she heard the brown tabby tomcat's suggestions about the cats that could possibly speak to Maplestar further on the subject of having a rogue as a father.

"I'll speak to them about it, as long as they're not busy. Battooth's been known to have an over cheery mood and he seems busy with someone special by the looks of it," Ivorywing meowed, amusement gleaming in her eyes as she stuck her head out of her den for a few moments before pulling it back in, just in time to see Battooth romping around in the snow with Rainfeather.

"Very well. I'll be back," Ivorywing finally meowed in a decisive tone. She sent a glance over her shoulder at Bear. "If you need anything, just call me. I'll be back, however," she added. Having a medicine cat's personality, the white she-cat didn't exactly want to leave any patients alone in her den, even when she could easily be called.

Ivorywing >> EarthClan Camp

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[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

EarthClan Camp >> Ivorywing's Den

Ivorywing returned back into her den, welcoming the soothing scents of the herbs that greeted her once she entered the small cave. "Bear?" she meowed softly, her brilliant bright green eyes finding the brown tabby tomcat in her den. "I told Crystalrose to speak to Maplestar; she's speaking to him currently," she informed the tomcat that had a striking resemblance to the tomcat leader of EarthClan.

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[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

When Ivorywing gave her consent saying that she could enter, Crystalrose padded into the ivory pelted medicine cat's den. She looked around for a few moments, her dark brown gaze adjusting to the darkness of the cave with only the light from outside flooding in through the mouth of the cave.

"Ivorywing," Crystalrose began, "I spoke to Maplestar, although I'm not sure that I really convinced him that much, I'm sorry." She gave a deep bow of her head to the medicine cat out of respect for Ivorywing. "But there's another matter I'd like to speak to you about, about Maplestar himself..." Crystalrose trailed off, seeing Bear in the den. "Alone?" she murmured softly.

Ivorywing looked at Bear then to Crystalrose, seeing the exprsesion on Crystalrose's face. Concern lit the medicine cat's eyes, but she shook her head. "You may speak to me about this, but Bear deserves to know what's troubling you about his son," she meowed, then in case Bear didn't want to hear, she asked the tomcat, "do you want to listen to this?"

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[Battooth]

Bear nodded as Ivorywing brought the news about Crystalrose talking to his son, then sat up a little straighter when Crystalrose appeared. "I'll hear it if it concerns Maplekit," he meowed. Seeming to catch himself, he meowed, "Maplestar. Sorry." Bear sometimes still hoped that one day Maplestar would accept him, and believe that he was his father. He wished he could go back to the time when Maplestar had been his tiny little son, so that he could've had another chance to raise the scrap of fur.

He settled back down and nodded to Crystalrose. "Out with it then," he meowed.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"Well, first of all," Crystalrose began, remembering what Maplestar had said, "he at least agreed to let you stay as long as you wished; it's a start, at least." She gave a glance at Ivorywing, who nodded, before she continued speaking. She wasn't sure how Bear would reacct to what she had to say, so she was a little timid and afraid of doing so. Even though Ivorywing was a good medicine cat and was trained not to let her emotions run through, Crystalrose was even rather shy saying what she had to say in front of the ivory colored she-cat.

"I-I-I admit, I like Maplestar; he's a good leader and he's never been unfair... well, I'm not sure about this situation, but in all other events... And, well, today he touched my pelt with his and touched my side lightly with his and I didn't pull away; it was actually quite nice. But then Dovefeather came along and Maplestar invited me as well as Dovefeather on patrol... I'm not exactly sure anymore how I feel. It's just... I'm confused," Crystalrose meowed, finally finishing as she glanced around worriedly at Ivorywing and Bear.

--x

Ivorywing peered at the she-cat warrior, a thoughtful expression crossing her face as she did so with her bright emerald green eyes. "You like him, you say?" she meowed, still deep in thought as she sat, her tail wrapping around and resting on top of her front two paws as she continued contemplating over Crystalrose's situation. Much to Crystalrose's dismay, however, Ivorywing didn't say much else, for the she-cat was still thinking.

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[Battooth]

Bear chuckled. "Really," he said, amused. Looks like my son is fairly popular, he thought. "He's probably just trying to be nice to everyone," he offered. "Leaders are supposed to be fair, so I'm assuming he didn't want Dovefeather to feel left out." He shrugged, wincing slightly as his shoulder smarted a bit. "He's been looking at you lately, and from the way he does, I think he's fond of you. I'm sure he doesn't realize it though. He's a bit of a block head sometimes, as I'm sure you've all noticed." He realized that maybe these two didn't know he had been spying on the Clan to know of his kit's life. "I've been watching you all for a while," he added, "If it's not too creepy or rouge-ish."

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Crystalrose regarded Bear's words for a few moments, looking at the tomcat thoughtfully. They did have some common sense embedded within them. "You know," she meowed, "looking at you is like looking at an even more grown-up version of Maplestar; it's interesting." Tilting her head to the side, she contemplated over Bear's words yet again. "That's normal if you've been watching your kit grow; that's how parents are," she added in response to his latter comment. Glancing in Ivorywing's direction, she saw an emotionless expression written across the ivory colored cat's face.

"How do you do that?" the she-cat warrior asked, voicing aloud the question she had always wondered when she had been around the medicine cat. Looking at Ivorywing intently, she watched as the medicine cat's face remained expressionless as she responded.

--x

"Being able to not show your emotions is something that took me years to manage to do; there are times when I almost feel like throwing off this no-feeling mask I have on," Ivorywing meowed, "I wish I could, but my duty is to the Clan and I must keep my emotions hidden inside me so that I don't break the warrior code in any which way."

Looking to Bear, Ivorywing didn't even blink in surprise at his words, although she was a little surprised inside. Bear had managed to watch his son grow up and still not leave any trace that would alert any of the EarthClan warriors? Indeed, this father of Maplestar was very clever. "When did you start watching?" she asked quietly, looking at Bear intently with her bright green gaze.

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[Battooth]

Bear chuckled softly, remembering all those times when he had rolled in random, strong-smelling things to mask his scent near the EarthClan camp. "Since Maplestar was a kit," he meowed. "I dropped him off, promising Blazingstar that I would hunt for the Clan for a few moons. I left the fresh-kill I caught near the camp and found a place where I could peer in through the barrier without anyone seeing me, and where not many cats went anyways. I got a fairly good view of the High Rock and the fresh-kill pile from there and I got to watch as he was made an apprentice, warrior, and even when he was made deputy. I checked in almost everyday." He looked to both she-cats, wondering how they would react to his spying abilities.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Ivorywing nodded as Bear mentioned Blazingstar's, the former leader of EarthClan's, name aloud. Amusement flickered through her eyes at the fact that Bear, this cat with so much muscle and bone was able to hide from the normally nimble and keen-sighted and scented EarthClan warriors. "You'd be good to have in a Clan; any Clan would want you for aiding their spying techniques," she meowed in a good-natured tone, taking a nonchalant glance outside of her den, seeing that the snow was still falling outside.

--x

Crystalrose looked at Maplestar and Ivorywing, suddenly confused. "But didn't Blazingstar know you were a rogue cat and he still accepted Maplestar when he was still Maplekit?" she asked. It wasn't as if she didn't want Maplestar in the Clan, leading EarthClan; she was just confused. She looked at Ivorywing. How could the medicine cat act so sure? Ivorywing wasn't older than Crystalrose, and if Maplestar had been a kit when this had happened, then she herself had been Crystalkit while Ivorywing would have either been Ivorykit or not even born yet.

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[Battooth]

Bear nodded at her question. "He knew I was a rouge, but he also knew the warrior code. No warrior may neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if that kit is from a different Clan," he recited. "I'm assuming that means that all rouge, loner, and kittypet kits should be cared for as well." He grinned to himself, pleased at Ivorywing's comment. "I guess I can be pretty useful sometimes, if I want to be."

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Ivorywing purred with amusement at Bear's words in response to her comment about him being able to spy well. Deciding to not continue with her conversation with the brown tabby tomcat in order to not disturb Bear's conversation with Crystalrose, she went a bit deeper into the cave and began sorting out her herbs, still listening to the two speaking.

--x

"Interesting," Crystalrose meowed with a nod as if she completely understood, although she didn't exactly. One question still burned in her mind, however, in the midst of all the other ones she had. "Where was I when all of this happened?" she asked, wondering where she had been. Then, another question popped up. "Did you happen to see me when I was a kit? Was I cute?" A purr trembled in her chest as she asked her questions.

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