once more to see you ☆ swallowpaw/mc meeting?

[rowanpaw]

☆ Since the day Rowanpaw met the molly with the herbs, she has not been able to stop thinking about her. Her clear blue eyes appear in dreamlike visions, her silky light brown fur in the gaps between trees. It is a haunting, to be sure, but a nice one. One she does not mind. It is better, in any case, than being haunted by the grey tom that had died in front of her. A welcome distraction from death and sickness.

So on the next half moon she sneaks out of the camp. To anyone that knew Rowanpaw, this would seem strange– she was one for following rules, for order, and the last time she snuck out into the dark, she'd almost lost her life. But like she had told Swallowpaw– it was terribly lonely, being a medicine cat. She couldn't relate to the other cats her age, not really. They talk of hunting and battle, bloodshed, things she wants no part in. She wants to talk to someone who… understands.

In the clearing between the four trees, she looks around, the air thick with memories everywhere she goes. Her eyes are drawn to the hollow den where her mother and father used to sleep. She moves closer, carefully, as if to not disturb anything. She's not sure if she's only imagining it, but she swears, she swears she can still smell him, like part of him lingers here, somehow.

Overcome with the loss of a father she barely got to have, she settles in the groove of his old nest, and waits to see if Swallowpaw will come.

☆ ROWANPAW. 11 moons
mentored by serpentberry,
adopted daughter of serpentberry and thornstar
sister to maplefrost
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

every night she'd look up at the moon. swallowpaw knew the phases of the moon like the back of her paw, but she found herself antsy from rowanpaw's request. sneaking out is the easy part, she just didn't know what to expect. she thought her days with the cats she grew up with her over, they've all drifted apart since the clan settled into their new land.

swallowpaw looks up at the darkened sky, the moon shining in all it's glory— one half of it hidden by shadows. she slips out of camp under the guise of a late night cobweb patrol. they're easier to spot at this hour.

the last time she was here, swallowpaw didn't do much poking around. after thunderclan departed she didn't feel comfortable sticking around. delicate paws walk through a place with history she's unaware of, a civil war falls quietly on her ears. any smells that once existed here have gone stale from seasons of abandonment, so she follows the only one she recognizes. heavy on the herbs, with notes of pine sap and dew.

she walks through the clearing like a ghost until she reaches the abandoned den. rowanpaw's fur blends in with the night sky, while swallowpaw feels exposed from the faint lighting. "rowanpaw?" she asks hesitantly, poking her head in. "are you... asleep... did i take too long? i'm sorry."

ʚɞ

 

[rowanpaw]

☆ Rowanpaw lifts her head as she hears footsteps approaching, careful not to move too fast in case it was some stray Shadowclanner or predator– then the familiar bitter scent of herbs and pine. A soft voice speaks, and Rowanpaw rises, shaking her head in response.

"Not sleeping, no," she replies. "Don't think I could, here. Too many memories." She steps out into the open and sits down, blinking up at the half moon. "And not late– I got here early… I… I suppose you wouldn't know, would you? I'm not sure when you– when Skyclan– arrived. But this is… we used to live here together, before…" the words get stuck in her throat, somehow. Visions of Thornstar's bloody body, of the birth of her siblings, of death and life and cruelty. "It's a long story," she says at length.

She gives Swallowpaw an apologetic look, then shakes her head, as if trying to shake off the bad memory. "Anyway, I'm glad you came, Swallowpaw, I… My mother is healthy again. The herbs worked. I don't know… I don't know how to thank you, I–" she chokes again, cursing at herself internally– cool, Rowan. Very cool. Holding back tears is definitely going to leave a great impression. She grits her teeth for a moment, then, with a steadier voice, continues. "I, and the rest of Thunderclan, thank you. We have… we have lost too much. Losing our medicine cat…" she shakes her head again. "I'm not good enough. Not yet. Without you…" she looks at Swallowpaw, and smiles softly. "I'm glad I met you, Swallowpaw."

☆ ROWANPAW. 11 moons
mentored by serpentberry,
adopted daughter of serpentberry and thornstar
sister to maplefrost
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

swallowpaw sits about a tail length away from her, ears perked with interest. the history of this place hangs above them like stars, and it dims out just as quickly as rowanpaw changes the subject. her eyes search the apprentice's face, picking up the signs of sorrow; she's curious about it, but doesn't pry. a part of her is selfishly grateful rowanpaw keeps it close to her chest, the relationship between their two clans hangs in limbo.

"i'm sorry." she looks down at her paws. "skyclan traveled to the woodlands after living in a gorge for generations... we've been here since the end of leaf-bare." swallowpaw looks back up at her, sympathy carving a crease between her brows. and we didn't expect to be picking up the pieces of our ancestors.

skyclan was lucky their numbers didn't decrease during the journey. they had the close call with ponywhistle, then downykit, despite it they kept going. it took them arriving to realize how many cracks were in their cobblestone walls. but rowanpaw doesn't need to know that.

"i'm glad to hear your mother recovered." whatever's happening in thunderclan's spiritual affairs is a chicken and the egg situation, swallowpaw can't be sure who broke the rules first, or if they simply found a loophole. still, she becomes bashful from the praise given to her. the girl's tail curls around her paws, and she glances to the side, smiling nervously. "it's— it's fine you don't, uhm, need to thank me i'm just glad she's fine." she blinks, having already said that.

"you'll get there. our job isn't easy, but it's rewarding, i promise." her head lifts to find rowanpaw's gaze once more. her eyes appear gold in the moon's lighting. "i'm glad to have met you, too. i didn't think i'd get to meet another medicine cat apprentice right away."

ʚɞ

 

[rowanpaw]

☆ Swallowpaw speaks, and Rowanpaw has to try hard to listen, to not get distracted by her eyes or her tail or the tufts of fur on her cheeks. Generations? Rowanpaw thinks, trying to hide her shock. Could that really be true? That while the clans died out here in the forest, somewhere far away in a gorge, a clan was living and had been for generations? She wants to ask about this, what it's like, what traditions bind them– but holds herself back, disarmed by the return of her compliment.

"Oh! I… me neither," she replies. "I don't even know if any of the other medicine cat's have picked apprentices yet. It's all still so… so new." She hesitates for a moment, then, "to be honest, I did find it hard to believe at first. In Starclan, I mean. I… there was a battle, here, a few moons back. Many cats died. I was injured, so my brother got me out of there, but after– when the fighting was done, they said spirits rose from the dead, star speckled and beautiful. A cat came down– Coffeestar, I think her name was. She led us to our new home, gave us the name Thunderclan. But I didn't see her, didn't see any of it. I was just told to believe, and I– I did. I guess I wanted something to believe in." She looks up at the stars, how they twinkle benignly above them. Her father is up there, looking down on her. "I can't imagine what it's like to have lived like this for generations. I'm kind of jealous. So much history… no wonder you knew just the herb to help us."

She looks back at Swallowpaw, feeling lighter than she has in a long time. "I'll keep working hard. I'll learn a lot, and then one day, I'll be able to pay off my debt to you."

☆ ROWANPAW. 11 moons
mentored by serpentberry,
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

the other medicine cats... swallowpaw feels a tiny surge of anxiety over people she hasn't met. she hopes they're as kind as rowanpaw is, because she'd like to keep some level of neutrality in case of an emergency.

she turns back to the other apprentice, tilting her head to the side. her paws begin to prickle while rowanpaw discusses the events that happened on this very land. a deadly war, many fallen cats, starlight– "coffeestar!" she suddenly blurts out, immediately recoiling back, "s-sorry, it's just– coffeestar was our leader, before hawkstar. she died just days before we left to the gorge." it's funny imagining the ever-smiling coffeestar revive starclan. until she fell to the rats, the leader was always keeping morale high and parading herself around... turns out peace doesn't come immediately after death.

"skyclan's existed as long as i've been a kitten, but... it feels like we're starting over. i'm uhm, glad that we have neighbors this time around, however." the gorge was a depressing, horrible place to live in those last pawful of moons. warriors came back from patrol covered in rat bites, apprentices feared leaving camp, nothing about it felt like a place to live.

she feels rowanpaw's eyes on her again, looking at her with gratitude. she breaks eye contact to look down at her paws. "you uhm.. you uh, don't have to do that. it's fine, really... you should worry yourself with your own clan, i'll be fine."

ʚɞ

 

[rowanpaw]

☆ "Really?!" Rowanpaw exclaims, looking just as shocked as Swallowpaw.

She reels it in as the other molly does, listening intently once more. She nods, understanding well enough. It is nice to not be alone. Although she'd gladly rid the forest of Shadowclan, as far as she knew, the other clans were friendly enough.

• You should worry yourself with your own clan, I'll be fine.

Rowanpaw shakes her head, some feeling in her chest growing. She can't quite place it. "I don't… I don't think that's right either," she says, but she's struggling with how to phrase it. "I do worry about my own clan, of course, but… but we, the medicine cats… Well, I've actually been thinking about this for a while– us medicine cats, we don't work the same as warriors do, right? We don't fight. We don't hunt. We heal and repair. So why should we follow their rules of hostility? I've already been helped so much… Cicadabuzz– that's Shadowclan's medicine cat– they helped me once, and offered me herbs. And Riverclan's medicine cat, Jinglemoon, he also offered to help some of my clan when he met them. You helped me. None of us know everything but… together… together we could help even more cats, couldn't we?"

Her cheeks feel hot, and she can't really meet Swallowpaw's eyes, but her voice is steady. She means this.

"If a cat from another clan stumbled into Thunderclan territory injured, I'd help them just the same as one of Thunderclan. That's the kind of medicine cat I want to be. I… I want to learn as much as I can, and that means learning from more than just my mentor."

☆ ROWANPAW. 11 moons
mentored by serpentberry,
adopted daughter of serpentberry and thornstar
sister to maplefrost
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -