Greysight and Warpaw ended up returning to the camp pretty late, so late in fact that most everyone else had already gone to rest for the night. Staying out late, however, did have it's advantages, as she and Warpaw were able to catch a few extra mice. Warpaw had insisted on not going back until they had at least five pieces of fresh kill. Greysight didn't have a problem with it so they did, it was actually nice to see her apprentice trying so hard.
It was honestly no surprise that she woke up late because of this.
Greysight found herself alone in the warriors den, and based on the air and emptiness of the den, it was pretty obvious. The blind she-cat grumbled a bit to and forced herself out of her nest, stretching her legs after standing up. She had actually gotten a good sleep...a good sleep. For once she didn't have any nightmares- no dreams, no nothing. It was an extremely satisfying feeling to wake up to, instantly making her feel better about the coming day. It was pretty lucky, surely Lostheart's advice couldn't have worked that fast? Greysight grinned to herself, brimming with confidence.
If a patrol hadn't left yet she would take Warpaw out. With that thought in mind, Greysight left the warriors den. The air was somewhat thick around her, signaling the coming of a possible storm; if you asked anyone else, however, they'd probably just say that's how the sky always looked. Truly though, it had gotten darker.
Thinking about her apprentice suddenly made her remember Goldenpaw, she still needed to talk to her, but where was the young she-cat? Darkpelt and Branchpaw were in the clearing speaking to each other, and being a sibling of the cat she needed to find, it was safe to bet that Branchpaw had seen where Goldenpaw went. She couldn't sense the apprentice anywhere in camp.
"Hey!" she called, catching the two toms' attention beforehand as she approached. "Have either of you two seen-" Greysight's voice was lost as a resounding screech sounded from the medicine cat den, catching the attention of all cats in camp. It even managed to send a few birds flying up from the canopy above. Instinct caused Greysight to shoot forward and run to the medicine cat den, fully alarmed by the screech.
"What is it?! What's going on?" she shouted as she burst in through the entrance.
"Thistleprick!"
Roseclaw was sitting beside the small pool of water inside the den looking furious. Thistleprick was standing across from her, but both eyes had now fallen upon Greysight due to her sudden entrance and loud demands. Roseclaw chose to ignore her, however, in favor of turning her attention back onto the calico.
"Look what you've done!" The white she-cat was looking into the water and soon began to scoop something out of it. "That was all of our feverfew and now its useless." Roseclaw finished, fishing the last of the now drenched, flowery bush leaves out as she gathered them in a small pile. Wetpaw stood in the back of the den, looking rattled from all the shouting and loud noise.
"Now I'm going to have to go out and get more, do you even realize how difficult it is to find herbs in our territory? Feverfew only grows in the swamp you know, you're lucky it isn't flooded this time of year." Roseclaw continued, shooting the tom a stern glare as she rolled up the ball of wet herbs to be disposed of.
Greysight blinked. There was no threat here, but it looked like Thistleprick was causing trouble.
"I didn't mean to." Thistleprick retorted, looking down at the ruined herbs. "I'm sorry, look, I'll go with you, okay?"
"No thank you." Roseclaw replied harshly, "I'll be fine by myself."
Greysight chose this moment to intervene, stepping forward to show that she wasn't just a shadow inside the den. "No, take him with you. If he's the one who messed up, he should be the one to replace the herbs." Blind eyes narrowed in the direction of the tom; wasting their resources wasn't an option. "Quit playing around." she growled.
Roseclaw finished sweeping the herbs away and sighed, looking toward the entrance of the stone den. "I might as well go now." Greysight looked like she was about to retort, but Roseclaw waved her off with a swish of her bushy white tail. "I'm not tired, and besides, I'm the only one who knows what the herbs look like. I'll let the apprentices rest, they need it from after the meeting last night." Blue eyes turned toward Thistleprick, glistening with aggravation, "Thistleprick can do their work for them." She sighed. "Come on, let's go."
Greysight moved out of the way as Roseclaw padded past, Thistleprick following behind with a small shrug, though he did look a bit guilty- only just a bit. The black she-cat stopped him shortly, only to ask a quick question. "Thistleprick, have you seen Goldenpaw?"
The calico blinked his violet eyes, looking a bit curious as to why Greysight was trying to find his apprentice. "I gave her the day off, why?"
Greysight shook her head, "Nothing, Warpaw was just asking if we could do a joint training session."
"Well if you can find her, I'm sure she'd like that." Thistleprick added as an afterthought as he quickly padded ahead to catch up to Roseclaw, who was already on her way out of the tree tunnel. Greysight hung back, standing in the clearing. A day off, huh? That probably meant she had gone out to OceanClan territory again; Greysight didn't doubt it. That would be her first place to look, and even if she wasn't there, tracking the apprentice would be simple for her. Greysight also intended to make use of the time to go hunting as well seeing as there was currently nothing in camp, she hadn't even been able to eat any breakfast.
The blind she-cat left without another thought, mind fully set on ending Goldenpaw's little meetings; perhaps if she hadn't been so distracted, she would have realized she was being watched by a pair of large, wide eyes.
Roseclaw continued to trek through DarkClan territory with Thistleprick at her heels; she pushed past several bushes and leapt over many fallen branches in the process. This side of the territory had always been much more wild, more messy. They were headed to the swamp where the feverfew could be found. She was walking fast, and it was becoming harder and harder for Thistleprick to keep up.
"Hey!" he called. "Come on Rose, wait up; why the rush? The plants aren't going anywhere."
Roseclaw didn't slow her pace any until they reached the swampy part of the territory, made noticeable by the softer ground and change in foliage. She stopped, allowing a moment to try and calm her own feelings of frustration. "They might not even be there at all, and if that happens, we'll have nothing to take care of anyone who comes down with a fever- amongst other things." she muttered angrily.
"You know I didn't mean to, it was an accident. Besides, no one is sick right now."
"And what if they do get sick? I might not be able to help them, and that'd all be on me! I don't know why you have to continue to make my job harder." Roseclaw was practically fuming, but she knew there was no point in being mad, so letting out a breath of hot air, she flicked away her irritation with a sharp lash of her tail. Thistleprick was being oddly passive, really he could've at least acted like he cared about messing up her stock, or possibly setting the clan up for another tight situation. They couldn't always go around asking the other clans for help, they needed to show that DarkClan could do things on it's own, and that meant not taking any more donations.
The deeper portion of the swamp lay only a few feet ahead, and that meant they would need to be more careful. There was a reason the clan had rules against apprentices entering the swamp, and most warriors didn't even bother, it simply wasn't worth the risk; however, a plethora of herbs grew in the muggy terrain, and only in it. It was a place that the medicine cat was forced to frequent, but it was never a place to go alone, usually she would take Mintpaw along, not only because of the rule, but because the apprentice also needed to know how to get around in such a place. Inwardly, Roseclaw smiled a bit, her mood lightening at the thought of her apprentice. The cream-colored she-cat would no longer need her guidance, she was a medicine cat now.
As for the rule, there was a very good reason cats couldn't go into the swamp alone. If it was flooded, no one could, but as of now it wasn't. However, even without the flooding, many portions of the swamp were constantly waterlogged, and there was no telling how deep some of it went- or what might be lurking underneath... Cats were not permitted to attempt to wade through the water, and going around was a necessity that in itself presented a danger of it's own, perhaps even more so than the waterlogged portions.
The problem? Quick-mud. Naturally the ground of a swamp, one with consistent flooding at that, would be very soft and muddy, and this was a dangerous thing. One false step and a cat could sink in up to their belly, and getting out was near impossible once ensnared. It was the reason the rule had been made so long ago after several foolish apprentices had been lost to the hazardous area. The mud would suck a cat down, make moving impossible, and struggling would only make the effect worse. Truly, it was a deadly trap.
Roseclaw however, being the clan's medicine cat, often frequented this part of the territory and she knew from her own teachings in the past how to navigate her way through the terrain to get what she needed.
"I'll lead." Roseclaw meowed. "The swamp is a dangerous place, if you make a wrong step, it could mean the end of your life- So follow mine exactly, okay?" She turned to look back at Thistleprick who had been looking into the swamp; upon catching her gaze, the calico grinned slightly, a small twinkle to his eye.
"I would follow you anywhere, Rosebud, you know that."
Roseclaw stared at him for a second before she turned and padded onward all the same. In doing so, she wasn't able to see the grin slowly fall from Thistleprick's face, or the way he had somberly picked himself up and followed her into the muggy forest. He hardly even paid attention as he followed the white she-cat around twisted trees, and across logs lying in the mud and water below; not even the thick ringing of the bugs, or the rancid stench distracted him- although it did cause the tom to wrinkle his nose distastefully. Whatever happened to forests and fresh air, wide open spaces and the beauty of nature, huh? The smell reminded him of his old home, and that was a place better left forgotten. Instead, he was focused on the she-cat ahead of him.
No retort? No comeback? No comment on how immensely immature and idiotic he was? It wasn't natural. She had to be really upset if she couldn't even yell at him.
Thistleprick followed her until she stopped in a relatively grassy area and began to grab at the proper herbs she needed. Thistleprick hung back for a while, watching her, but as she continued to do so without saying anything he stepped forward. "Which ones do we need?" he asked.
The tom half-expected Roseclaw to ignore him again, put to his surprise she set down the clump she had already gathered beside her. "These ones here, the leafy little tendrils, with the small flowers. That's feverfew."
She returned quickly to her work, not sparing Thistleprick even so much as a glance. He moved to stand behind her and pull up the plants himself, setting the tendrils onto the pile Roseclaw had already begun to make. "I really am sorry you know, making your job more difficult wasn't my intention..." He had only wanted to make her laugh, but his clumsiness had gotten in the way of things once again and he ended up making the situation worse.
The snowy medicine cat sighed. "I know."