Brackets + bold means a future Icepaw just commenting. I don't know how that works, but let's just leave it at that. XD
Brown-white leads me toward the den known as the medicine cat den. It is formed of large fallen rocks, curiously placed to form a cavern. I glance back at my shoulder. Where are White - Frostpaw and Cloudpaw going? Why are they going out into the forest with stranger Clan mates?
Being in the presence of Brown-white alone is awkward. He was kind, but all the time I see him it the mood was practical and with reason. Unlike the other times with Brown-white, his attention wasn't faced on mouthing. He was always mouthing. I copied him always. No matter how well I did, though, he always came again.
The air in the medicine den is really strikingly different from the nursery I had always known. The nursery is small and round and cozy, always filled with nests and stray pieces of moss. There is always an air of optimism and it had a milky, loving scent. Here, though, there is a stark contrast. The rocks had given the chamber a steely look and nothing was done without reason. The smell is also different too; not unpleasant, but just different. An odd blend aroma of various herbs.
I snap my attention back to Brown-white, who had flicked his tail to capture my attention. He points a white paw to two nests I noticed earlier. One is bigger. One is smaller. Clearly the smaller one is mine. I don't understand. I'm moving here? B-but how about Mother, Frost, and Cloudy? What's happening?
Suddenly, an idea strikes me forcefully.
Maybe they're moving me here because they thought I wasn't good at mouthing. After all, I have never been very active at it, seeing that it wasn't, well, empirical.
I can't believe it.
Another movement caught my gaze - Brown-white is motioning me again. He must have noticed my disturbed state because gives me an encouraging nod and pads a little deeper into the den.
It is darker and colder than the nursery.
Brown-white's reaction, though... I hope my thoughts earlier were wrong.
It had only been a few paces but suddenly the scent of herbs were everywhere. Earthy, bitter, spicy, pungent, sweet, cold, musty. It had it all, each herb evening out another. Harmonious. I look closely. There were all sorts of roots, seeds, berries, flowers, leaves, and other curious things tucked into crevices or holes dug into the earth. This is all too strange.
I turn to Brown-white, who was sitting patiently a tail length's distance away from me. He gives me another hopeful nod, looking more excited than I have ever seen him in my life. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I wasn't here for lifelong mouthing lessons. Maybe I'm just learning herbs. Healing. Fixing cats up. [I never knew of the irony in that thought. Later they tell me there was nothing that they should fix of me.]
I was actually... kind of excited. I snap back into reality, ears beginning to warm as I realize I had been blankly staring at Brown-white all this time. Oops. I hated staring. Brown-white gave a little purr of amusement at my embarrassment, making me growl and my ears reddening even more. Dang it, ears are so useless; they just let others know that you are embarrassed.